Awestruck Angel
by BlackVelvetEyes
Summary: Autumn is Bella's cousin, and came to Forks to escape her family...Emmett is grieving and when they meet, sparks will fly...!
1. Prologue

A/N: This is told in two POV's; Autumn Taylor Swan (a character I based loosely off myself :P), and Emmett Cullen. It is the prologue for another longer story, but since I don't have time to write it right now, here is the background info. However, I promise to come back and finish it. Enjoy. :]

OH! And btw, I, of course, do not own any characters that you recognize, except my beloved Autumn. The Cullen Boys are welcome to stay though. ;]

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The rain pounded down on the roof of my black Ford F-50 truck. I guess in some ways that was good. I wouldn't have to go through a car wash before school tomorrow. _Ha,_ I thought, _who says Forks even has a car wash? _I chuckled to myself, then turned on the radio. Forks may not be the most urban place around, but at least it got some good radio stations.

By the time I arrived at Charlie's house, it had miraculously stopped raining. I gazed at the wooden house in front of me. It had to be his, because it was the only house with a police cruiser sitting in the front. I sighed. _Slap on that smile and go greet your uncle and cousin, Autumn. _I heard the front door creak open as I climbed out, and turned to smile at Charlie. He smiled too, and gave me a big bear hug.

"Hey. It's really nice to see you again Autumn."

"You too Uncle Charlie." I decided it would be rude to call him just Charlie to his face. He stepped back, and I saw my cousin, Bella, walk slowly out of the house. I wondered why she was walking so slowly like that, when I realized she wasn't wearing any shoes, and would probably slip if she tried to walk any faster. I laughed, and ran up to her, throwing my arms around her neck. She also laughed, and returned my hug. We let go and grinned at each other.

"I haven't seen you in forever Autumn. I'm so glad you're here to finish school."

"I know. I've really missed you Bells." I said, using her long time nickname, for me at least.

"Maybe I should start calling you Taylor, instead of Autumn. How would you like that?" She threatened, and I widened my eyes in fake horror. Bella wasn't exactly fond of the nickname "Bells". But she was right to bring up the fact that I hated being called by my middle name.

"Alright, Autumn, Taylor, whoever you are, let's get your stuff upstairs. I'm afraid you and Bella with have to share a room. Either that, or you can sleep on the couch." Charlie looked bad when he said this last part, so I butted in.

"I'm fine with sleeping in Bella's room, if she doesn't mind."

"Um, no, that'd be fine." She looked a bit flustered. I'd just ask her about it later, in private.

After I'd gotten all my stuff put away, Bella and I sat on her bed, just talking. She'd asked about how my mother was, if she was ok, carefully avoiding the subject of my father. That was one thing I loved about Bella. She always knew what not to talk about, and how to stay away from it. Soon, we got onto the topic of boys.

"So, Bells, have you found yourself a guy yet?" I teased.

She blushed. "Well, actually, I have."

"Really? Well let's hear about him!" I said. Thank goodness Bella had found a boyfriend. She had always seemed so lonely and sad, kind of unconnected to the world, so this would be good for her.

"Um, well, about that…." Bella started, but a knock at the window made her stop, and in turn I almost flew off the bed.

"What was that?" I said, slightly startled, cautiously walking back over to Bella.

"It's my boyfriend." Embarrassment and guilt seemed written all over her face. I let this information soak in for a moment.

"Well let him in, before it starts raining. We don't want to risk letting Charlie know. Besides, I want to meet him."

She seemed shocked for a moment, but then recovered, and raced over to open the window, stumbling slightly on the way over. After fumbling with the latches for a minute, the window finally opened, and my jaw dropped. This guy was seriously good-looking!

He smiled when he saw Bella, but froze when he spotted me. I imagine it must have been a surprise to have someone catch him sneaking in to see Bella. He recovered nicely though, and walked over, offering his hand.

"Hello Autumn, I'm Edward." His voice was lovely, just like his body. But his hand was freezing to the touch. _Must have been the weather._

"Hey. I guess you already know I'm Autumn, Bella's cousin."

"Yes, Bella has said many good things about you."

I laughed. "Well, that's good."

Bella also laughed, and seemed to relax, melting into Edwards arms.

"I have to say, you're pretty, um, cute." _Understatement of the century._ "Got any brothers Edward?" I joked.

He started for a split second, then turned to Bella.

"About that…"

I heard him before I saw him. His voice sent shivers down my spine, in a very good way."

"Edward, why did you drag me all the way down here…?"

And then an angel climbed through Bella's window.

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It had been a year. That wasn't much in vampire time, but it seemed to be a big deal for humans, because Bella came over today. Of course, it wasn't really that different from any other day. Edward always brought his girl over to hang out and talk to the family. But today Bella asked to speak with me. Alone.

"Hey Emmett."

"Bella." I smiled, and she smiled back.

"How's it been going?" She was still smiling, but there was another emotion in her eyes now. Concern. It made me cringe.

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked, feinting confusion.

"Let me rephrase. How are you doing? Are you alright? Because if you aren't, you know you can talk to me." The smile was gone, and she let her concern show plainly.

"I'm fine Bella. I know it's been a year, and you think this will make me feel different today, but I feel the same. I am fine. And I would feel better if everyone would just stop bothering me about it." Although I had tried to keep it light, my voce turned hard towards the end. Bella sat back in her chair, looking at me with hurt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." Her eyes watered to tiniest bit, but before I could say anything, she was walking out of the room. And that was fine with me. Right now, I just wanted to be alone.

No, that wasn't true. There was one person I would give anything to be with. Rosalie. My sweet Rose. I breathed in deeply, not because I had to, but because if I didn't I might let my emotions get control of me, and poor Jasper would complain. Jasper had been my greatest friend, and at the same time, the most annoying family member throughout this past year. Sometimes I feel bad, because my sorrow for Rose would overwhelm Jasper, and he would lay down for hours or days at a time. Jasper could often calm me down, or dull the hurt I was feeling, and for that I am eternally grateful.

However, other times, I got so angry. No one had to go through everything I am going through. Jasper hadn't lost Alice, so why should he be complaining. Alice loved Jasper, like Rose had loved me. Sure, the rest of the family had loved Rose, but not like I had loved and accepted her. When she was pissed off, I always made her feel better, not them. They had no idea what I had lost.

Edward approached me after he had taken Bella home. There was no way she had been that upset. My thoughts turned bitter, despite my efforts to be civil.

"Why'd the little princess go home? Its not often she ever leaves here until seven or eight at night. What sent her running back to her human family?" Edward visibly tensed with each word that came out of my mouth. The knowledge made me grin. Maybe I would finally have something worth while to take out my anger on. Edward would be a worthy opponent.

"Emmett, this has got to stop. I realize you miss Rose, we all do! But you have no right to treat us like this. Especially Bella. She was just trying to help."

I laughed, and I could hear everyone in the house stop and listen.

"You have no room to talk. You made us pack up our things and move just because you stand to have temptation in your way. You left Bella after saying you love her, and then left the family to sulk about and chase Victoria. You made us uproot our comfortable life here, just for her. Excuse me for not grieving the right way."

Edward froze, and I was sure there was going to be a fight. But then he turned, and walked out the door.

"Come with me." He said.

"I'm not some dog you can order around."

"Just come on."

I sat there for a moment, contemplating, then decided to follow him. He was supposed to be spending the night with Bella tonight, so he was probably taking me to apologize. And I would go, because I did feel bad about Bella. She had never done anything but try to help me. Plus Jasper had gone to lie down, and I figured I should give him a break.

We ran towards Bella's house, and soon it began to rain. We ran faster, and dodged the rain. Each drop was made clear, and I swerved left and right to avoid them. I could always get wet later. The rain was relaxing, and very nice to sleep in.

"Wait here for a minute." Edward said, then hopped up, and knocked on the window. It took a few moments, but finally Bella opened it and let Edward in.

I kept running, around the house and through the woods, rain falling all around me. I could hear three voices in the room, and I hoped Edward hadn't been caught. But the third voice didn't sound like Bella's father. So what was taking him so long? I decided to go investigate, and jumped up onto the windowsill.

"Edward, why did you drag me all the way down here…?"

I climbed through the window, and froze. Standing there was not only Bella and Edward, but another girl. She was beautiful. Not exactly thin, but she wasn't fat either, with brown hair that reached her shoulders, and brown eyes, that held a hint of green, something the human eye would almost never see. I was awestruck. She stared at me in the same exact way. I breathed in.

And then I smelled her, and lost all control.

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A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Don't eat me. :]


	2. Unspoken Desires

A/N: Well, here I am, writing the first few chapters. I wish I could be one of those authors who updates regularly, but I doubt I will be. However, I will try me best. Please review! Compliments, criticism, ideas, and/or comments? All are welcome!

Oh, and just to clear a few things up, I had to repost this chapter after making the mistake of giving the vampires actual fangs. It doesn't mention them in the book, so I guess I shouldn't have put them in the story, although they must have fangs right...O.o

Also, the part where Emmett bites her is a nightmare, so I thought I should leave the part about the fangs in that particular part. Autumn doesn't know Emmett is a vampire yet, but her subconscious mind is warning her.

Disclaimer: Thank you Stephanie Meyer, for giving me those lovely Cullen boys to play with! I wish I could call them my own. :[

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All hell broke loose. Before I could even step forward to shake hands with this gorgeous guy, Edward disappeared from Bella's side and had pinned him to the ground. Bella was shaking like a leaf as she pushed me out the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. I stared, almost in a fascinated horror, as the beautiful stranger let out a savage growl, and attempted to get Edward off of him.

"Emmett, please stop! Control yourself!" Edward hissed

The boy, Emmett, growled once more, and this time was successful in throwing Edward away from him. But Bella had pushed me all the way out by now, and the last thing I saw was Emmett launching himself through the air, and Edward throwing himself at Emmett. The ground shook as they collided into the wall.

"Bella?! Autumn?!"

Oh no. Charlie's voice drifted up from the living room, where he had probably fallen asleep on the couch. I could hear some faint rustling noises in the room, and then all was still. The couch downstairs creaked, and Charlie called out to them.

"Is everything ok?"

"We're fine! It was just, um, a bat! It flew through the open window and scared us. It's gone now, so we'll just go back to sleep. Goodnight Uncle Charlie!" My mouth blurted out words with my brain thinking them over, and then I winced. Bats, in Washington? In the middle of fall?

But Charlie seemed to buy it, as he mumbled something, and soon the sound of loud snores made their way up to where Bella and I still stood just outside her door.

"Bella?" I asked quietly as we stepped back into the room.

"Yes?" Her voice quivered slightly.

"Would you like to explain why your boyfriends' friend was growling at me?"

"Oh Autumn, I'm sorry about that. Emmett is Edwards's brother, and, well, he gets really excited sometimes, and I think he just wanted to give you a hug, but when Edward stopped him he got upset, and kind of growled at him. It's a guy thing, between brothers, you know?"

The words tumbled out in one long breath, and she looked at me, as is begging me to accept her half-ass explanation. I knew there was more; I wasn't stupid. But it was late, and I was tired, so I let it drop.

"Yeah, guys sure can be weird sometimes."

"Yes." Bella breathed out happily, relieved.

"Let's get some rest, I'm beat." I muttered, and climbed onto my side of the bed. Bella didn't lie down immediately, looking out the window as if hoping Edward would return. I smiled slightly.

"I approve by the way."

"What?" Bella seemed caught off guard.

"Of Edward. He's nice, and polite. And obviously treats you right." I giggled at the fact that I had unintentionally rhymed. Bella let out a giggle too.

"And hot." She added.

"Oh yes, that is definitely a plus." I sighed happily, and let myself be engulfed as the feeling of sleepiness rolled over me. I felt Bella lay down, and soon after drifted off into sleep.

It was cold. Not the kind of cold where you put on a jacket and suddenly everything's fine. No, this was the bone-chilling cold that shoots straight to your heart, and you feel as if you'll never be warm again. I shivered, and pulled my arms tighter around myself. I couldn't see anything, it was pitch black, save for the tendrils of gray smoke that seemed to wrap themselves around me, and bring more of the chilly wind.

My nightmares weren't usually like this. I usually had a reason to be afraid when having a dream like this, but now the freezing hand of fear had itself wrapped around my heart, and my throat was stuck, as I tried to call out for help. But what I didn't understand was why I needed help. I was alone, so I should be safe, right?

A hand on my shoulder alerted me to the fact that I was not alone, and I spun around, feeling the gray wisps strike my cheek with a sort of icy hatred.

Emmett stood behind me, keeping on large hand on my shoulder. I suddenly felt safe, he wouldn't hurt me. But that feeling was short lived as he tightened his grip, and smiled.

My heart froze as I took in the gleaming fangs protruding from his mouth. They looked so sharp, and dangerous. I tried to twist away.

But Emmett wasn't having any of that. I gasped as he rushed forward, and bit down on my neck with a vicious bite. I screamed now as I felt blood dripping down my neck, and prayed this nightmare would end soon. Fire laced its way through my veins, and my screams became softer and softer, until now I only whimpered as Emmett retracted his fangs. He held me tight before letting me go, and hummed a soft lullaby as I sank to the ground, the strands of smoke swallowing me whole. I sighed, now welcoming the numbing darkness…welcoming anything but the terror of that bite, and the secret sinful pleasure of being bitten by an angel of the night.

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Time went slowly that night. So slowly I thought that time had stopped altogether.

_You almost bit her. _

I growled softly, wishing the voice in my head would shut the hell up. I just wanted to forget. Why couldn't I forget?

_You know you wanted her. At least her blood, if nothing else. _

I ignored the voice, and focused on the conversation Edward and I had had when we got back to the house. He had been upset, that much was obvious, and he had also made it clear that I should stay away from Bella and her cousin for a while. I could see why though, Autumn was a human, and I could have easily hurt her. I _should_ stay away from her.

_She wasn't afraid. She's still not afraid._

Damn it. The voice was right. The look on her face has not been one of terror, but rather fascination. She hadn't been scared of me, and I was shocked. Even Rose had been disturbed when she saw me let loose on those strangers years ago. I curled up at the thought of Rose. Beautiful Rose.

_Beautiful Autumn. _

"No!"

"Emmett? Are you ok?"

I sat up abruptly, slightly embarrassed. I had not meant to cry out, but no one could compare to Rose. Not even Autumn.

_Autumn._

My eyes closed for a fraction of a second as I remembered her face. Then I opened them again and addressed my brother.

"I'm fine Jasper. Just thinking."

"You seem…conflicted. Would you like to talk?" Jasper whispered. The air surrounding him always seemed to shimmer slightly as emotions passed through him.

"You already know the story, why should I have to talk about it?" I grumbled, actually wanting to talk about what had happened, but too stubborn to admit it.

"Was it her blood? Or just her scent in general?"

"Her scent. Jasper, you don't understand. I felt like I had been withdrawn from drugs. Heroine, crack, weed, you name it and her scent just…I felt like I had been given a taste of something so addicting…I just couldn't…" I stumbled over and over, trying to explain it all. Jasper stopped my babbling but putting his hand over mine.

"I know." Jasper said, and I knew he understood what was so impossible to explain. I had to see her again, and Jasper knew it.

"Help me?" I said, feeling slightly pathetic.

He smiled, and nodded, then spoke.

"I was thinking she should meet the family actually…"

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A/N: I'm sorry it was so short, but I felt like that would be a good place to leave off, and now I can post it, so there. Please review peoples, or I'll have Emmett bite you too! :]


	3. Into the Lion's Den

A/N: Just so you know, I have a general idea where this story is going, but no plans have been set in stone yet, so, any surprises that happen in this chapter or any of the upcoming ones will be surprises to me as well! Also, is you could please let me know if everyone is in character by reviewing. That would be lovely...:]

Disclaimer: If I owned these amazing characters I would be very rich and happy. Unfortunately, they aren't mine, and no money is being made from this. Not that I would get much money from it anyway...:P

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I shot an irritated glance at the window as I attempted to drag myself out of bed that morning. I thought Forks was supposed to be a dull, dreary place, and yet there was the sun, shining through the window and into my sleep encrusted eyes. I heard the bathroom door being shut down the hall, so I guessed Bella must have already gotten up. I stretched out across the bed, letting myself relax before getting up and starting the day. My thoughts involuntarily drifted back to last night. It all seemed like a bad dream, but I knew it wasn't. I had really met Bella's boyfriend Edward, and had really almost been attacked by his brother, Emmett.

Something wasn't right. I found it hard to believe that Emmett was just "overly friendly" like Bella explained. He had seemed possessed. I knew I should be scared, or at least a little apprehensive about seeing him again, but instead I just felt nervous and curious to see what he would say. Would he try to jump me again, or would be act reserved? So many questions and no answers...

I let out an exasperated huff just as Bella walked back into the room.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice only a tad bit drowsy.

"Are we going to go see Edward and Emmett today?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

Bella chewed on a fingernail, looking worried.

"Well, I don't know. I think Emmett might be a bit embarrassed to see you, especially after how he acted last night. Maybe we should just wait to see them at school."

"If he's embarrassed, we should go over, so I can tell him there's no hard feelings. Guys are just like that, right?" I said, throwing her excuse back at her.

"I suppose...if they're home that is. They might have gone camping. After all, it's such a nice day today, and they're very outdoorsy..."

"Well, there's no hurt in checking is there?" I asked, already knowing she'd say yes.

"I guess not..." She was still biting on her nails, so I grabbed her hands and put them by her sides.

"Chill out Bells. There's no need to act so...antsy. I just want to get to know the guy who almost jumped me last night." I said grinning.

"Ok, ok. Well, we might as well start getting ready." She said, and climbed off the bed in search of something to wear while I headed to the restroom.

I studied myself in the small mirror hanging on the wall. Same brown eyes, with little flecks of green, same brown hair that partially framed my slightly round face. I tucked my hair behind my slightly small ears, and attempted a smile. Same fake smile that I always get when trying to act happy. I sighed and let my hair drop down to hide my ears again. I really wasn't that bad looking, but I definitely wasn't knock-out pretty. Oh well.

I threw on a dark green shirt and some dark wash jeans, then examined myself one last time. The shirt brought out my eyes, and the jeans made me look slimmer. I smiled to myself, a genuine smile this time. I wondered why I was spending so much time on my appearance today, but tossed that though aside, and walked out to see if Bella was ready.

She was waiting downstairs, eating some cereal and staring off into space. She glanced up when I came down the stairs and smiled. She wore a brown shirt and light wash skinny jeans. I almost hated the fact that she could pull that off, her being so skinny and all.

"Nice shirt." We said at the same time, and laughed as she put away the dishes and grabbed her keys. I expected it to feel muggy outside, because of the rain and sun and all that. But instead I was greeted by a nice breeze and warm sunshine. It really was a very nice day outside.

We climbed inside her old, beat up Ford, and took off. I was surprised to see that the radio worked, then realized it was a new one that had been installed. The engine roared as we chugged down the street at a respectable, if slightly slow, 22 miles per hours. I didn't say anything though; just enjoyed staring out the window and watching this foreign place go by. It really wasn't that different from Florida, the plants were green and blooming, and people were walking down the street, some occasionally waving.

Thoughts of Florida brought up thoughts of my family, but I immediately shoved those down. The whole reason I was here was to focus on getting away, and spending time with my favorite relatives. It was too bad that Aunt Renee couldn't be here, she was always a riot.

My mind stopped wandering when we arrived at what looked like, at first, an abandoned home. Then I realized that the vines growing on the house were for decoration, and that the garage door was open, showing some rather expensive cars, so someone must live here. But why were all the blinds closed on such a nice day?

We exited the truck and walked up the walkway. The house was a beautiful crème color, and looked so Victorian sitting in the middle of the forest, with the sun shining down on it. I followed Bella was she walked up to the wooden door, and knocked hesitantly on it.

"Come on in Bella, the door's open!" A light, female voice called from inside.

We exchanged a quick glance, then opened the door and stepped inside. I could feel my eyes widen as I took in their spacious, yet stylish home. The walls were the same color as the outside of the house, and all the furniture looked chic yet comfortable at the same time. The room overall gave off a very elegant feel.

"Bella, how lovely to see you again." An older woman glided over and gave Bella a quick hug, and then turned her attention to me.

"Hello, I'm Esme." She said, extending a manicured, elegant hand.

"I'm Autumn, Bella's cousin. You have a beautiful home." I said, gesturing to the room.

She smiled.

"Thank you Autumn."

A man came out of the kitchen, and wrapped his arms around Esme.

"Hello Bella. Who's this?" He asked.

"Carlisle, this is Autumn, my cousin. And Autumn, this is Carlisle, Edward's father."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Autumn. Bella has actually been telling us quite a bit about you."

"All good things of course." Bella looked at me with hopeful eyes, and I laughed.

"Well, she's also said many lovely things about you, and your family. I'm so thankful she has you all, to help and protect her. She's always been a magnet for trouble."

Everyone laughed a bit at that, but there seemed to be some underlying tension, as if I'd said something that hit a little too close to home. But just then Edward walked down the stairs, and Bella walked over to greet him.

"So what do you do Mr. Cullen? Bella had told me that you work at the local hospital, but what section do you work in?" I asked, turning my attention back to the couple in front of me.

"Well, I do occasionally work in the ER, but I tend to stay in the more peaceful parts of the hospital. I general work where I can stitch people up, and help them heal. Nothing major really, unless, like I said, I'm needed in the ER. Why do you ask?"

"I was considering getting my degree to be a nurse, or a doctor, and was just wondering." I answered honestly.

"Really? That's wonderful Autumn. You seem like the type of person who would be good at something like that. It takes great determination, but you must also have a good heart, and know what's best for your patient." He explained.

"Yeah, I don't panic in tough situations, and I don't freak at the sight of blood either." I joked.

"Yes, those are helpful qualities to have!" He chuckled, and I suddenly relaxed, feeling very at home here.

"Perhaps you can request to take the Nursing and medical class at Forks high school. That's one of the classes I'll be taking this year." Edward put in, sitting down on the couch with Bella by his side. I took this as an invitation to sit, and settled into a fairly large, cushy armchair.

"That sounds great, but do you think they'd let me change my schedule?" I asked.

"I think I can persuade them." Edwards smiled mischievously, and wiggled his eyebrows, causing everyone to laugh. Bella had told me about just how "persuasive" Edward could be, and I recalled her telling me about the incident with the secretary.

"Where's Alice? And Emmett and Jasper?" Esme asked.

"Upstairs. It seems Emmett is not feeling well..." Edward trailed off, and looked behind him.

"Or maybe he is." Carlisle said, and gestured for the person standing behind Edward to join us.

"Hello again Bella." Emmett stepped out of the shadows of the stairs, looking straight into my eyes.

"I don't think I properly introduced myself last time. I'm Emmett."

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A/N: I never realized how much fun it is to write cliffies! I must control myself; wouldn't want to be cruel to my poor readers. ^^ The next chapter will be mostly from Emmett's POV....I think....


	4. Echoes

A/N: I feel like such a bad author. Real life has kept me busy, cleaning, cooking, all that jazz. Sorry that I didn't update sooner. I know it's not a lot of writing, considering the wait, but please bear with me.

Oh and by the way, the underlined sentences are Edward conversing with Emmett in his mind. What, did you think I would forget about Edward's mind reading powers? :P

Disclaimer: I often daydream about what it would be like if I did own the world of Twilight…it's such a shame I don't.

I could scent her as soon as they pulled up. It was a lovely scent, not exactly flowery, but more like berries and cotton, mixed with the indescribable smell of fresh rain and sunshine. It was such a different scent from Rose, who always smelled like, well, roses. Of course I loved how Rose smelled, how could I not? I had even gone through all the gardens in the town of Forks and destroyed all the roses, a rather rash act, but hey, everyone grieves in their own way. I found it a bit strange that I could think of Rose so easily without feeling the need to go curl up and die in a dark corner somewhere.

_Oh well, just the eye before the storm I suppose. _

The sound of footsteps on the porch jolted me from my silent musings, and I stepped out from my bedroom to find Alice and Jasper peeking out of the room they shared, and Edward walking quickly down the stairs. Alice turned and gave me a toothy smile before pulling Jasper back into the room with her. Of all the times for Alice to meddle in other people's business, this would be an ideal time. And I knew I could definitely use Jasper's support to keep from pouncing on Autumn, again. Already her scent was filling the house and I stopped breathing. The smell still faintly produced that tickling sensation in my nostrils, but I did my best to ignore it, and descended cautiously down the wooden stairs.

I paused in the middle of the stairs and listened to Carlisle talk to Autumn about the hospital. My mouth curled up involuntarily into a small smile when I heard she had thought about working in some sort of medical profession. She would be good at something like that. I had already found out that she was calm during moments of chaos. That thought made my lips turn downward, and my brows furrowed. After last night, she obviously wasn't afraid of me, or why would she have come? But perhaps she didn't want to talk to me after all; maybe Bella had dragged her here? I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts, which didn't work as well as I had hoped, and made my way down the rest of the stairs once I saw everyone else sitting down in the living room. I paused at the foot of the stairs, listening as Edward tried to explain the rest of the family's absence.

"Upstairs. It seems Emmett is not feeling well..." Edward trailed off, and looked backwards, spotting me.

"Or maybe he is." Carlisle said, and gestured for me to come and join them.

_No turning back now. _

I walked slowly from the stairs over to the edge of the couch, where I saw everyone turning slightly, their attention focused on me. I murmured a slight greeting to Bella, but barely noticed any them, because Autumn's eyes were glued to me, and I couldn't tear my gaze away from her. Her eyes were widened slightly, and I could clearly see the green flecks of color against her warm brown eyes. I again had to remind myself not to breathe, for I might be overwhelmed by her delicious scent. I forced myself to speak, instead of simply staring at her like some love struck idiot.

"I don't think I properly introduced myself last time. I'm Emmett."

_That didn't sound totally formal and stupid, did it?_

No, I think that will do for now. But you better prepare yourself bro; I have no idea what she'll say. 

_Get out of my mind Edward._

I was used to him invading my privacy, and so I managed not to scowl, although I was sure my annoyed, don't-mess-with-me tone came through pretty clear, because he didn't try to comment to me again.

Autumn's mouth opened, and then closed, and then opened again. She looked almost like a fish out of water, and I couldn't resist letting a miniscule smile form on my face.

"Hello Emmett. Um, I'm Autumn. But I'm pretty sure you already knew that." She said, blushing as she realized what my smile was about.

"Pleasure to meet you Autumn." I kept my voice low, so as not to scare her, but also because I didn't feel the need to be loud and boisterous around her. Her very presence was calming, almost like having Jasper around. But coming from her, it seemed more naturally, and not forced at all.

"Ditto." She said, and everyone laughed slightly. I felt myself relax, and went to head over to the couch and sit by Esme, when Autumn jumped up, making me freeze.

"Um, Emmett, if you don't mind, do you think I could talk to you?" She looked a bit unsure, as if she would offend me. I gaped at her a second before shaking my head to, once again, clear my thoughts. It was becoming a bit of a habit lately, and slightly annoying at times like these. Her face fell, and I realized she must have misinterpreted me shaking my head.

"That's fine Autumn." I assured her quickly, and watched her eyes light up again.

"Um, follow me." I turned, and walked over to the stairs, before stopping and waiting for her to join me. Bella was staring at her cousin with a worried look in her eye, and Autumn was smiling at everyone and sayings things like "I'll be just a minute," or "Excuse me,"

When she finally reached the stairs I could almost feel my undead heart beating with excitement and nervousness. I let her walk in front of me, admiring her figure as she climbed the stairs. She was curvy, but not as skinny as Rose had been. She was a bit more filled out in the stomach, thighs, and butt. At this last part, I glanced at her jean clad rear. Ridiculously, I felt like blushing and smiling at the same time. We reached the second floor, and I directed her to my room. I stepped in first, and in that brief second examined everything to make sure nothing vampire-like was lying around. Thankfully, everything was in order, so I stepped inside, and motioned for her to follow. Once she was inside, I turned and shut the door. Not that it would do anything, everyone could still hear them. But she would probably appreciate the illusion of privacy.

Turning back to her I noticed she had seated herself on one of the poofy beanbag chairs scattered around my room, with her legs drawn up to her chest. I would have said she looked scared was it not for the small smile playing on her lips. The turquoise blue clashed with her dark green shirt, but I just laughed it off in my head and settled myself on the edge of the bed. Finally I was able to focus all of my attention on her. She seemed to realize I was ready, and let out a deep breath.

"Alright, so I know we got off to a…rocky start. But I just wanted to let you know that whatever happened last night, consider it forgotten. I know what they say about first impressions and all, you know, 'You only get one first impression', but with me you can just throw that saying out the window. Because you seem like a nice guy, and we all make mistakes, and I thought that maybe you'd think I was upset or freaked out or something, but I'm not. I mean, I understand if you were just excited or whatever, cause you're a guy, and guys can be guys. Not in a bad way, it's just you know…I'm babbling aren't I? Sorry." She but her lip and looked away, her face cherry tomato red from blushing.  
I sat staring at her in amazement. Everything she had said contradicted everything I had been thinking all last night and today before she had arrived. And the craziest thing was, she wasn't just pointlessly reassuring me. She sounded sincere, so sincere that I dared to hope that maybe we could be friends…

"Oh no, you weren't babbling. I needed to hear all of that. I'm sorry that I got so…carried away last night. That wasn't like me, and I was hoping we could start over…" I trailed off as she looked at me with honest eyes.

"That'd be great. I'd really like to get to know you Emmett, because I think you're-"

The door opened suddenly, revealing Edward and Bella. Bella smiled apologetically when she realized she had interrupted something serious, but Edward just stood there grinning knowingly.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go Autumn. Charlie will be home soon, and he probably won't be too happy about us coming over here without his permission…" She glanced around worriedly, as if her father would jump out and accuse her any second.

"Alright, I'll be right down." Bella nodded, and walked away, carrying Edward with her.

"Emmett."

I snapped my distracted gaze away from the door and looked at Autumn.

"It was great talking to you. I'll see you at school tomorrow?" She asked, her eyes looking, dare I believe it, hopeful?

"Yeah, I think I'll be at school. Until then." I said, and, acting on impulse, took her hand, and brushed a light kiss on her knuckles. She blushed bright red again, but stood up, smiling.

"Until then." She repeated, then turned and walked quickly out the door. I felt my heart jump a bit when she paused at the top of the stairs, and flashed me a smile before taking the stairs, two at a time from the sound of it. I heard her promise to come back and see Esme, and tell Carlisle goodbye after telling him she would see him at the hospital.

"But you don't have to worry about me being your patient. I haven't been in a real hospital since I was born." I smiled as I heard her say that, and grinned even wider when I heard Edward's exasperated sigh as he ran up the stairs and then came to stand in my doorway.

"Of course I get the Swan girl who's prone to accidents. And then along comes her cousin, who hasn't set foot in a hospital since her birth. You lucky bastard." Edward shook his head and plopped down onto the bed next to me, where I was leaning back against the wall, with my hands on the back of my head.

"Fate is a fickle fiend my brother." I said, then laughed.

"Poor Carlisle looked worried when she said she hadn't been to a hospital." Edward commented. I heard the loud roar of Bella's ancient monster firing up, and even the sound of the radio being turned on. For a moment I felt sad that she was leaving, but immediately felt better when I thought about tomorrow.

"I know, I thought he was gonna give her a lecture on how she should get regular check-ups." I closed my eyes, and relished the echo of pain in my cheeks that comes from smiling too long.

Even though I was technically dead, Carlisle had explained that we would have "echoes" of former feelings. So I wasn't actually in pain, just remembering what it was like to smile so hard it hurt. Somehow, the thought just made me smile more. At last, my life was finally starting to mean something to me again.

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I stared out the window of Bella's truck, listening to the radio belt out some rap station before Bella inserted a CD. The soothing sound of piano filled the truck, and I let my mind wander. Today had gone so much better than I had originally thought. I had expected Emmett to be reluctant to see me; either that or completely ignore what had happened last night and act normal. And I certainly hadn't expected him to be so…gentle.

"Is something wrong with your hand?" Bella's soft voice broke the silence, and I looked up in surprise.

"What?" I glanced down to see I had been unconsciously stroking the spot where he had kissed my hand. I let both my hands drop into my lap and smiled.

"Nope, everything's perfect."

A/N: I apologize for the shortness, it annoys me as well, trust me. Reviews are treasured. OH! And I would like you, my dear readers, to tell me when and where you think their first kiss should be. I have an idea, but you guys most likely have better ones, so let's hear em! :]


	5. La Abusadora

A/N: Ok, this chapter was a tad delayed...I know it's only a bit of reading for such a long wait, but I did have to do a bit of research, meaning I had to re-read Eclipse...again. Sorry. *winces*

But anyway, my dear readers, listen up! The first kiss between them will not happen for a few chapters yet, which gives you guys plenty of time to decide when and where you want it to be! And also, I suppose I should mention that this story takes place during Eclipse, so Victoria is still out there...*exaggerated gasp*

Disclaimer: Come on people, do you honestly think these characters came from the depths of MY mind? Hahahahahahahahaha! No, they didn't.

I also do not own the incredible works of Jane Austen. *tear*

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The rest of my day passed in a sort of blur. I remember coming back to Bella's house, and greeting Charlie as he walked through the door only minutes after we had. Then I went upstairs, and locked myself in the bathroom and stared at myself for a good thirty minutes, trying to figure out what Emmett saw in me. My hair looked normal today, not spectacular, but not appalling either. My boobs looked like...well, like boobs, and my ass seemed decently shaped in these jeans. All in all, I was no exceptional beauty. So what had he seen in me to make him act like that; like he wanted to be with me as much as I longed to be with him? I examined myself every which way until Bella knocked cautiously on the door and asked if I was ok. I stopped scrutinizing myself, and came out, answering distractedly that I was fine.

Then I proceeded to grab a copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, situate myself in Bella's room, and lay out on my half of the bed, where I pretended to read about Elizabeth's and Darcy's love/hate relationship. But the whole three hours I sat there I didn't actually read a single page. I was much too focused on the window, and the insane hope that maybe some incredibly gorgeous guy named Emmett would come through it, and rescue me from my restless self.

Once dinner rolled around though, most thoughts of Emmett fled from my head, because Charlie was not in a good mood at all.

"You do not get to go prancing all around Washington State, just because your cousin is here Bella. You are extremely mellow for a teenager, and quite responsible for your age, but you aren't going to any big cities, especially Seattle!"

"Dad, calm down. I only meant Los Angeles. And besides, Phoenix is twice as big as Seattle and has a much higher crime rate I'm sure."

"I don't care about Phoenix Bella. While you're here with me you will follow the rules of this house, and what I say goes. You and Autumn will not be safe in Seattle."

"That doesn't exactly guarantee that we'll be safe in Los Angeles either. But you're right; I don't really want to go into the big city right now, with all the crime and all that..."

"What crime?" I cut in, sitting down at the table while watching them attempted to eat the glop of noodles and sauce on their plates. I had informed Charlie and Bella yesterday that I was on a very strict diet; I only ate fruit and granola bars. When I really wanted a treat, I would grab a Coke from the gas station down the road. Charlie grabbed a paper from off the counter and tossed it in my direction.

"There have been quite a few murders in Seattle as of late. More than I am comfortable with." He explained in between mouthfuls of saucy red noodles.

"I was just saying that it would be good to go down to Los Angeles and get you a few clothes, since the start of school is tomorrow, I figured you may want some new shirts or something. Maybe I could even bring Angela along. She's a good friend. And if it's shopping Alice will want to come as well, but be careful, she could spend fortune just on new shoes!" Bella shivered at the last statement, as if remembering some horrific shopping trip. I stifled a giggle. I had never been an excessive shopper really, but Bella detested it.

"That sounds good to me, maybe sometime this weekend."

A knocking sound made Bella jump up and race to the door, while Charlie's brow furrowed and he stalked towards the door, apparently trying to look menacing, and only managing to look like a petulant child. I withheld another giggle.

I joined the little party as the doorstep, and found that Edward had come to visit. I peered around him to see if maybe Emmett had come as well, but there was only one good looking boy at our door tonight. I grinned as Bella and Edward just stared at one another, lost in each others eyes. They seemed so oblivious to me and Charlie standing there, I was reluctant to break them up. Charlie seemed to have no problem with it though, as he huffed and stamped his feet impatiently. He stooped his shuffling at my look and shaking of my head.

"Hey Edward, what's shaking?" I asked, and he laughed, making Bella smile.

"Nothing much is shaking Autumn, how about you?"

"Everything is perfectly steady thank you very much."

"I would have brought Emmett with me, but he was feeling slightly ill today, so we made him stay in bed so he would be able to go to school tomorrow."

If possible, Charlie's eyes narrowed even more when Edward mentioned Emmett and me. I opened my mouth quickly when I saw him about to speak.

"So, um, I'm going to just go watch some TV, wouldn't want to miss the kick-off." I grinned slyly at Bella when Charlie's eyes widened and he set of towards the living room hurriedly.

"Nice." Edward murmured under his breath.

"I love you." mouthed Bella, and they both went off to the kitchen.

"Hurry up Autumn; you've already missed kick-off."

I scampered off the sitting room, because I actually wanted to see how this game goes. As I settled onto the couch I though I saw a figure through the tiny window on the wall near the couch, but shook my head and watch the game unfold. Once the game was over, and victory had been celebrated, I trudged upstairs to brush my teeth, listening to Bella and Edward say goodbye. When I finally crawled into bed, I heard Bella walk in. She went straight to the window, and opened it a little more.

"Autumn?"

I cracked open one eye at Bella's whisper.

"Yes?"

"Um, well, if you want to sleep that's fine, but I just wanted to let you know, that-"

"That Edward will be climbing through that window any second? That's fine with me Bella, I'm content to lay here and sleep through your little rendezvous." I teased, and she smiled.

"You're really awesome, you know that?" She asked as I turned over to face away from the window.

"I know."

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The woods were dark and silent as I scanned the ground for any stray meat that could be wandering around at this time of night. I was secretly wishing for a bear to lumber out from its den for a midnight snack, but I supposed I would have to settle for a rather large jack rabbit that was about 30 feet away. I took a deep breath, and ran over quickly, and snapped its neck to save the creature any pain. The acrid smell of animal blood swirled around me, and I sniffed to make sure the animal didn't have any diseases. Not that it would affect me, but a rabbit with Coccidiosis tastes quite unappetizing.

Blood smeared my face slightly as I pulled away and put the corpse behind a tree, even though it was highly unlikely that someone would walk by at this time of night and find the corpse, but in this case better safe than sorry.

I was still a bit hungry, but I figured that I would be fine tomorrow, even if I was lucky enough to get to spend a good part of the day with Autumn. Thinking her name made me want to see her, and I was surprised to find that I was near Bella's house. I made a split second decision and ran over, where I could see Charlie watching TV in the living room. I was about to turn away when a flash of brown caught my eye and I looked back. She walked with such confidence, like she didn't care what anyone thought. I unconsciously put my hand to my chest; she took my breath away. Suddenly she looked up, as if she had caught my movement. I pressed my back against the wooden boards of the house, but I was sure that she had turned away by now. She had good vision, perception. If she were to become a vampire I could only imagine what she would be able of...

I shook my head, there was no way any vampire was touching their fangs to my Autumn. Clearing all thoughts from my head, I ran home and waited for tomorrow to come.

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Bella's truck rumbled in the school parking lot, and she turned the key as soon as the vehicle was in the space. I laughed at her grimace; the engine really was the only major downside to her truck. The old-style making and color was perfect for Bella, and I could tell she loved it to death. Poor Edward however didn't seem to approve of it, eyeing it warily as he walked over to greet Bella.

A tap on my back made me spin around the face Emmett, and I couldn't help the smile that blossomed on my face. I knew I looked like a love-struck fool, but I didn't particularly care at the moment. He also smiled, and put his hand on my cheek briefly before letting it fall to his side again. His other arm was propped up on the side of Bella's truck, and he looked the picture of ease.

"Autumn." I loved that little dimple on the left side of his mouth. It was so small I almost didn't notice it, and it made him look boyish and impish. I opened my mouth to speak, but was suddenly surrounded by boys.

"Hi, I'm Mike, one of Bella's friends. Dang, you sure do look a lot like her. I guess beauty runs in the family." He blushed, and another Asian boy stepped in where Mike had just stood.

"I'm Eric, and I hear you're staying here until you leave for college. That's good; it means I'll have tons of time to get to know you." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and winked. I felt my own eyes widen and automatically took a step backwards, where I bumped into another boy's chest. He smiled and started to say something, but thankfully Bella pulled me out of the little circle that had gathered around me. I took deep breaths, trying to get some fresh air in my lungs while Edward laughed.

"Looks like you'll be very popular with the boys around here Autumn." He laughed, and turned to face Emmett, who glared menacingly at the crowd of guys still standing around Bella's truck, staring after me. I felt myself flush tomato red, and excused myself, making a beeline for what I hoped was the restrooms, Bella quickly following me. Behind me I heard Emmett mutter darkly,

"She's a heartbreaker, that one."

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A/N: Coccidiosis is a disease that rabbits get from eating contaminated materials, resulting in weight loss and diarrhea. Yeah, I used Google. :P

Abusadora means "Female heartbreaker" in Spanish. I already knew that one, no help from Google at all! :]]


	6. Storm Prediction

A/N: Late chapter, again. Sorry! Life has been hectic! *ducks*

But I tried to make this chapter longer and even fluffier, with a pinch of angst thrown in for you sadistic ones out there. :]

Special thanks to LifeisaFairyTale, for the idea of the boat!! I hope you don't mind that I borrowed it…great song! *gives her double chocolate chip cookie*

Disclaimer: Alas my poor readers, I do not own such marvelous characters, and no profit is being made from my writings…

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When lunch finally rolled around I had ten phone numbers from numerous guys that had been in my classes. Bella and I had the same schedule, so she had helped me ward them off fairly well, but it had still been overwhelming. And it wasn't just the boys that I had a problem with. Girls had been giving me dirty looks left and right! So far, my first day and Forks High hadn't been so great.

Bella sat next to Edward at the lunch table across from me, and Emmett had seated himself firmly to my right, putting Alice on my left, and Jasper next to Alice. Basically, I was sitting near the middle of the table, and totally surrounded. Some guys from other tables keep eyeing me, as if they wanted to walk over, but I was hoping Emmett was scaring them off. I shot him a grateful look, and started to tell him about how crazy my day had been when Alice started talking to me about having a welcoming party.

"Oh it would be so fun Autumn! We could invite tons of guys from school, and Bella could invite some of her friends, and us of course! It would be such a blast, but we'd have to take you shopping first, from what I've seen of your closet you don't have anything party-like. And I'll have to pick up some decorations while I'm there. I was thinking a green color scheme would be perfect, it'd definitely bring out your eyes Autumn-"

"Whoa! Stop the crazy talk for a minute Alice. One, I'm not really big on parties, so I'm not sure if this is the best idea, two-"

"No guys. She's already met plenty today Alice." Emmett interrupted me. I nodded.

"And three," I continued with a puzzled look on my face, "how do you know what's in my closet?"

There was dead silence from our end of the table for a split second, and then everyone started laughing. I ended up laughing to, but I could feel the slight uneasiness in the air.

"Alice has her ways. She's obsessed with fashion and all that, probably loves planning parties more than the parties themselves." Edward said a bit too playfully. I eyed him carefully before deciding to just let it go. It couldn't be that important.

"Guys, I think the party is a great idea! Don't you agree Bella?" Alice pouted, turning her attention to Bella, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. I smiled as my cousin stuttered out a reluctant agreement.

"So there! And it is Bella's house after all so if she agrees, then the party is on! Now, I'm thinking Bella, Autumn, and I can go to Los Angeles this weekend-"

I stopped listening to Alice and focused on Emmett, who was staring at his tray with a frown on his face. I leaned in closer and smiled, making him look up and smile slightly in return. But I could tell he wasn't happy.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, sneaking a glance at Alice every now and then to make her think I was still listening.

"Nothing." He said quickly, looking surprised. I could tell he was lying, so I just stared at him knowingly until he sighed.

"I love a good party, don't get me wrong. But I don't think we need to have a party just to introduce you to some new _gu_-I mean, new_ people_. You've met plenty of _people_ here at school today, haven't you?" He spit out the last part bitterly.

"Emmett. Chill out. Yes, I have met many, many new _people_, and school isn't even over yet. Unfortunately." I muttered the last part under my breath and Emmett chuckled. I smiled and kept going.

"But none of the _people_ have, um, caught my eye, so to speak. I mean, Angela seems nice, and she and Ben are really cute together. But other than that, I'm content to hang out with the people sitting at this table here. The party is just so Alice can introduce me to everyone, so I'm not "the new girl" anymore. I'll go, obviously, but not because I want to meet new people. Only because it is a good chance to hang out with the people who are already my friends…" As I said this last part I took Emmett's hand, which had been placed on his thigh and stroked his palm. I smiled up at him, positive that he would understand what I meant.

He took in a deep breath, then froze, and tore his hand away. I took my hand away from his, stunned. Snatching up his stuff, he dumped his tray in the trash and tore out of the lunchroom, making everyone look up to see what had happened. The air in the lunchroom changed as most of the boys glanced over at the now empty seat beside me, and all the girls clung to their boyfriends.

I was still shocked, my hand still outstretched, as if to try and grab the air where he had just been. What had just happened? Alice and Bella both tried to say something, but I grabbed my stuff and followed after him.

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I had to get out of this building before I punched a hole in the damn wall. Everything had been going great! Autumn had practically asked him to attend the party with him, and he had gone and ruined it. It was just, she had smelled so appetizing there, and when she had touched him like that, it sent electric shocks to places where they definitely shouldn't be going! She probably thought he was a freak, and would know accept some other boys eager invitation. I curled my fists tighter to keep from roaring in anger. She was mine, and I wouldn't allow and other male to touch her!

But it wasn't my place to say that. If she wanted someone other than him, that was her choice. My thoughts turned quickly form anger to dejectedness, and I slumped against the lockers, my feet sliding out from under me. I put my face in my head and tried not to think of sinking my fang into those delicate blue veins in her wrist, or the lovely, tanned skin of her neck…

"Emmett?"

My head snapped up, and I instinctively stretched towards her before pulling away, desperately trying to put some distance between her intoxicating scent and myself. But it seemed fate had other plans, as she crouched down in front of me, her face just a few inches from mine.

"Talk to me, please. What's wrong?"

I refrained from breathing, and closed my eyes for a moment, regaining some common sense. How to explain this to her?

"I feel like I'm on a boat." I said suddenly, then cringed. That wasn't exactly how I wanted to explain it. Her brown eyes narrowed in confusion, and I let out a breath.

"You see, I like you. A lot, actually. But it feels like I'm on a boat. One minute, everything is great, and I love being around you. But then a storm comes, and I doubt myself, and I wonder how you feel, even though you give me all the signs I need and more. It's just hard, because Rose-" I froze when I realized I had said her name. No, no I wasn't ready to explain this to Autumn.

"Rose?" She sounded lost, but also jealous, and maybe even sad?

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't think of anyway to explain. How could I tell her all about my beautiful Rose in only the 5 minutes we had before lunch let out? I made a split second decision, and decided to run with it. What the hell, Autumn is worth it.

"Autumn. If you give me another chance, I will explain everything. About Rose, about me, and about how I feel around you. Ok?" I said a bit shakily. She could always say no, just forget about me, and leave me to go back into my hole of depression again. I would lose my sunshine, my one and only sunshine, my hope, again. It would be like losing Rose all over again.

She looked at me for a moment, her eyes unreadable. Then she smiled, and my heart skipped a beat.

"That sounds wonderful Emmett. Now come on, and get off the floor. You'll hurt you back sitting that way." She straightened up, and offered me her hand, with no hesitation. I took it, even though I could get up on my own. We were both smiling like fools when everyone filed out of the lunchroom. No one approached us, maybe because I still had my hand in hers, and it didn't look like she wanted to change that any time soon.

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"Bella, have you ever noticed that the Cullens seem sort of secretive?"

The plate that Bella had been washing slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor, but didn't break thankfully. She muttered an apology, and then turned to finish the dishes. I was sitting at the table in the kitchen, thinking about Emmett's speech in the hallway. A boat was an odd way to describe it, and it reminded me of something he had been humming on the way to the parking lot.

_"It's just a song that Edward and I came up with, when we used to go fishing." He seemed slightly embarrassed, and I laughed._

_"Well, sing it to me, please?" I put on my most innocent face, and he sighed dramatically. _

_"Fine. I'm on a boat __by the lonely island or whatever it is and we sing 'Rose look at me' causing I'm standing on a boat!"_

A smile came to my face as I remembered laughing until tears ran down my flushed cheeks at his deep and sexy voice, and Emmett wiped them away with a flirty, amused smile. God I just want to kiss him!

My eyes widened a bit at my sudden thought. Where had_ that _come from?

"What do you mean?" Bella asked, breaking me away from my little fantasy thoughts. I didn't understand what she was talking about for a minute until I remembered my earlier question.

"Well, it just seems like they're hiding something. I'm not really sure how to explain it, it's just a feeling," I laughed, shaking my head, "I probably sound like a total lunatic right now. Sorry." I said, getting up, and heading out of the kitchen. But I stopped at the entrance when I heard Bella mutter something.

"Oh Autumn. You have no idea."

I considered her words as I trudged up the stairs and sat on the bed, intent on trying to finish math homework early. But nudged into the corner of my notebook was a slip of paper.

"No, he couldn't have…"

_Autumn,_

_I promised that I would explain everything. Would you like to spend a day at Madondra Beach with me? Who knows, we could even rent a boat. –Em_

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A/N: Oooooo! Autumn is getting suspicious of the Cullens! :P

Oh, and I made the beach up, so don't go to Washington in hopes of seeing

Emmett there! I know it's something I would try to do…

Anyway, here's the deal people! I feel like I'm not getting very many reviews, and I know there are many people viewing or even possibly reading the story! If I achieve a total of 20 reviews, I will update by this Sunday. But that means at least 7 people must review! Come on, just a few simple words! I'm not looking for paragraphs here, although those would be treasured. :]


	7. Hidden Bruises

A/N: Wow! You guys really lived up to my expectations as far as reviews, so here is the next chapter! I made it extra long, the longest yet, mostly because I was on a roll and just couldn't bring myself to stop the flow. :P

Mark the Spokesman: BVE has never, does not, and will never, own Twilight or make any profit from her writings.

BVE: Everyone, I would like you to meet Mark! He's here to help me with my disclaimer. Wave hello to the loyal readers and reviewers Mark!

Mark the Spokesman: You know she isn't paying me right?

BVE: Wave to the nice people Mark. *glares menacingly at him*

Mark the Spokesman: *gulps and waves*

BVE: That's better. :]

**Warning:** This is where I start to add in the angst, bit by bit…

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A whole week of school had passed without any major incidents. But, I had learned a few things. One, Bella was not a sporty girl, and PE most likely would have been a painful disaster for her and everyone within a few feet of her, had it not been for my surprisingly good volleyball skills. This little tidbit shocked everyone, mostly because they had expected that another Swan would make PE a health hazard. Two, Emmett was the protective type. It literally felt like I had my own personal bodyguard to ward off any overfriendly boys. Well, to be honest, he barely let Ben, Angela's boyfriend within three feet of me. It was so sweet, but by the end of the week I had had to let him know that it was a little much. He had been sort of angry, and even embarrassed at first, but then seemed to understand. Bella's friend, Mike, though, was pushing Emmett's self control, and I soon began to fear for the poor, foolish boy.

And three, I learned that the Cullen's were total social outcasts, and talked to no one save for me, Bella, Angela, and Ben. Mike occasionally tried to attempt small talk with Edward, but other than that, it was as if they didn't even exist. At first I thought that I perfectly normal; I mean, the Cullen's would seem a bit odd to anyone who hadn't gotten to know them. But then I became a bit suspicious. All of the Cullens had great personalities, and seemed friendly enough with us. You would think that someone would try to hit on the guys every now and then, or try to set up an occasion to hang out, but everyone avoided them like the plague. I'd have to ask Emmett about that on our date, which we had decided would be on Saturday.

I smiled to myself. I had taken to calling Emmett's invitation as a date, even though I hadn't dared to say the word in front of him. He might think I was expecting something of him, when all I really wanted was some answers, to get to know him, and to have his lips on mine.

Bella snapped her head away from the fish she was frying, eyeballing me. I realized I had involuntarily giggled, and I could feel my cheeks warm up.

"Sorry Bells, just thinking about…something funny." I finished lamely, and she laughed.

"Well pray tell, what is so amusing?"

"Um, well, it's just this cheesy joke Mike told me today." I lied.

Bella put down the tongs she had been using to flip the fish, and gestured for me to continue. I racked my brain for something corny that Mike would say.

"How do you make a tissue dance?" I blurted out.

"How?"

"You put a little boogie in it." I smiled, my mom used to tell me that joke when I was little, before she had left, and things at home had changed…

While Bella laughed, and turned back to attend to the dinner, I pushed the chair I had been sitting in away, and fled upstairs. My head threatened to explode as I fought to keep away the memories that I had struggled so hard to hide these past few years. I was in Washington, where no one could hurt me again. All I had to do was wait until I turned eighteen, only a few more months away, and I would never have to see that man again…

I curled up on the bed, and breathed in slow and deep. I was safe here. I wouldn't have to wash the red stains off of my sheets every morning. No one would get me here; no one would creep into my bedroom late at night, rough hands wouldn't grab me, wouldn't break the skin, wouldn't bruise me…

I gasped as an invisible pain shot through my chest, making it hard to breathe, and forcing tears to my eyes. I instinctively wrapped my hands around my torso and curled up even more, trying to escape the past, running frantically from distant, unspeakable recollections. _Calm down_, I chanted to myself, _calm down._ Slowly I was able to push the wetness in my eyes away, and breathe normally again. I stayed lying down for a few more minutes, then carefully peeled myself away from the covers. Sitting there on the bed, I forced myself the sit up straight, and look out the open window. A light breeze fluttered in suddenly, cooling my damp, feverish skin. The lush green foliage outside reminded me of where I was, and who I was with. Uncle Charlie, who was nothing like Dad-

I stopped my thoughts there, not wanting another repeat of what had just occurred. That person was not family to me. Bella, and Uncle Charlie, even Aunt Renee and the Cullens, whom I wasn't even related to; they were my true family. They would never hurt me. Never.

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I was skipping. No, really, I was actually skipping through the house, too excited for my date with Autumn to stay still. This would be the longest night of my life, waiting for the sun to rise so I could take Autumn out to the beach. Alice has assured me that it was going to be overcast all day tomorrow, no chance of sun at all. I was sure she was going to love it; she seemed like an outdoorsy girl, always commenting on how she loved to just sit outside and let the wind blow her hair around.

Edward and I had gone hunting just a few hours ago, and I had even been lucky enough to find a grizzly who hadn't found a hibernation place yet. Usually they were about ready to disappear for a deep sleep by now. Of course that only improved my good mood.

But in the back of my mind I was running over what I had discovered today. The only class Autumn and I had together was Honors European History, and I had managed to pull a few strings to be able to sit next to her. Sure, it was painful at times, especially on mornings where she had just washed her hair, and her scent threatened to undo me, but it was always worth it to see her smile every time I sat down next to her. Usually I left that class feeling as if I could take on the world.

But today in class, I noticed something that upset me. My eyesight was better than most, considering I was a vampire, but even my super sensitive eyes hadn't picked up on the thin scars that crisscrossed on her skin until now. I was thankful for the slightly warm day, which had made her wear a short sleeved purple shirt and dark capris. All throughout class I spotted them, either on her arms, her neck, or even on her legs. The worst one ran from the right side of her neck, and trailed down until her shirt cut off the rest. I could only guess how large that one was. They had all faded considerably by now, but at some point they had been painful, and deep enough to damage the tissue and scar her. Bella had some scars like that too, but that was because she was clumsy, and had been hanging around vampires for a few years. Autumn wasn't clumsy like her cousin, and hadn't been around me long enough to be in any real danger…yet.

At first I had planned to approach her immediately about them, but decided to let it go until tomorrow. I would answer her questions, and hopefully she would react as well as Bella had. I always thought that Edward was such a lucky bastard. His one true love understood the struggles of being a vampire, but was willing to give up everything for him. If Autumn was anything like her cousin, then my telling her about us would be a good thing, and bring us closer together. Although, this may cause another problem with the Voultori, but I wouldn't think about that for now. At this moment, all I would focus on is tomorrow, and how to explain the complicated lifestyle that I live.

"Hey, it's about 11, and I'm going to see Bella. Do you want to come and see Autumn?" Edward stuck his head into my room, and looked around. I had been laying on bed thinking for hours, and it was already dark out. I opened my mouth to decline, then stopped. There a chance, a very big chance, that Autumn may not understand like Bella had. This could be my last chance to see her again before she could possibly hate my guts.

"Yeah, just give me a second."

He nodded and closed the door. I threw on some jeans, and a black shirt. There was a slight pain in my chest, and I couldn't seem to shake it. If Autumn didn't believe me tomorrow, I wasn't sure how I would take it. I didn't want to go back to how I had been before she had arrived, but I certainly wasn't going to force myself upon her. I shook my head, and went downstairs to meet Edward.

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Bella and I were sitting in her room, unable to fall asleep. She was staring out the window, but hadn't opened it so I assumed Edward wasn't coming over tonight. I had my iPod playing, and my eyes closed, but no matter what I listened to I couldn't make sleep come to me.

One of my favorite childhood lullabies started playing, and I felt as if I finally might be able to fall asleep, when a quiet knock sounded on Bella's window. I jumped, and had to refrain from screaming, while Bella scrambled off the bed and rushed over to open the latch. Edward silently climbed in, and I was surprised when I saw Emmett following right behind him. I felt a smile spread across my face, at the same time that I remembered I was wearing an old jersey and some basketball shorts. Edward murmured something in Emmett's ear, and he nodded, then walked over to me. I was slightly unsure of what to do with myself, but Emmett fixed that by coming over and wrapping his arms around me. I twined my arms around his huge body, and relished in the feeling. It was like hugging a gigantic, hot teddy bear, although he was slightly cold, probably from being outside. He bent his head, and whispered in my ear.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so beautiful."

I smiled against his shirt, and wrapped my arms tighter around him. I didn't ever want this moment to end.

And then of course it did when Edward coughed, and Emmett turned his head away, most likely to glare at him. I laughed, and pulled away, but he grabbed my arm and gently led me towards the door.

"Emmett no, Charlie is asleep in the other room." But he just grinned at me and grabbed the door handle.

"Then he won't need to be in the living room, will he?"

I shook my head as we made our way silently down the stairs, and into the living room, where we settled ourselves on the couch, with me curled up into his side and his arm draped around my shoulder, pulling me in closer. This was the first time I had ever really been cuddled up against him, and I noticed that even though we'd been in the house long enough for him to warm up a little, he was still chilly. It must be the clothes, I thought, some of them are just weird like that. I rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt, and traced my fingers against his slightly hairy arms. The moonlight shone down on us through the window, making him seem almost translucent. He was truly beautiful. All of a sudden I felt sad. How could I ever compare to Emmett, who was funny, smart, and so amazing?

"What's wrong?" He touched a hand to my chin softly, and lifted my head so he could look me straight in the eye. His honey colored irises shone with worry, and I found myself wishing that I could make that look go away, wishing I could make him smile again.

"I was just thinking about how great you are. It's a bit eye opening to realize how perfect you are, and how flawed I am."

"How can you say you're flawed? And I am definitely not perfect." He said sternly.

"Well, you're as close as I've seen. And everyone has they're flaws, but I have more than normal…" I trailed off. _I'm not worthy of him_, I though, _I'm tainted, no good. And he deserves better than me._

"Autumn. I can't think of anyone who is more perfect for me than you. You're caring, loyal, laid back, and so beautiful. And it's a damn shame that you can't see that, because everyone else sure can." He looked down on me with slightly regretful eyes, and then leaned down and brushed his lips again my ear. I shivered, and warmth rushed through me even though his lips were like ice against my skin.

"To me, you deserve everything you could ever want and more." He whispered softly, making his breath slide across my flushed skin. I wrapped my arms around his neck to secure him there.

"Then it's a good thing I want you." I whispered back.

Suddenly the couch was no longer beneath me, and I was being cradled in Emmett's strong arms. They were muscled, and I loved it.

"Emmett!" I whispered harshly, but he didn't seem to listen, as he carried me all the way up the stairs and through the door to Bella's room.

They were lying on the bed, arguing softly about something, but everything became silent when we walked in. Emmett gently put me down on the bed, and I reached up for one more hug. It was obvious they were leaving, as Edward was standing near the window, waiting for Emmett.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

"Tomorrow." He repeated, gave me one last smile, dimple and all, and then followed Edward out the window. Bella walked over as soon as he was out and slammed it shut with as much force as she could, still making sure it didn't make to much noise. Edward stayed at the window though, and mouthed something to Bella. She sighed, seeming to let all he tension out of her body and mouthed something back. He gave a soft smile, and then was gone.

"What was that all about?" I asked as she walked back to her bed.

"Nothing," She said, then smiled weakly, "Just a little disagreement."

"If you say so." I eyed her for a second or two, and then lay down, feeling so emotional drained. It would be easy to fall asleep now.

"Autumn?" Bella whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Keep an open mind, ok?"

"About?" I asked, sitting up.

"About Emmett. You told me he was going to explain some stuff tomorrow, and I want you t keep an open mind."

"I'll try my best." I answered.

"Ok, good, because if you don't give him a chance, then you guys will never fall in love."

"Bells, it's a little early to be mentioning love, don't you think?" I asked.

"Is that what you think Autumn?" She asked, and gave me a knowing stare. I didn't reply, but settled back down on the bed.

_Love_, I thought to myself as I felt sleep begin to overwhelm me, _this feeling can't be love? Can it?_

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A/N: Woo! The L word has been spoken. :]]

Let's try for 29 reviews for this chapter, and I promise I'll update by Wednesday at the latest!


	8. That's Not My Name

A/N: All I have to say is, you guys rock. The reviews were all wonderful! So here is the longest chapter yet! :]

Mark the Spokesman: You call this "space" living quarters? You know, when I agreed to sleep in the basement, I didn't realize it was really closer to the definition of a dungeon! Hey, are those chains on the wall?!

BVE: They certainly are. And if you don't start doing your job right then you'll get a first hand experience of keeping you there. Now get into your cell. *grins happily*what it's really like to hang on a wall with only metal restraints on your wrists

Mark the Spokesman: All characters that you recognize belong to Stephanie Meyer, as does the setting. The rest is owned by BVE. Not much is it? :P

BVE: Ahem *looks pointedly at chains dangling from wall*

Mark the Spokesman: No money is being made from this story. *grumbling* Though she wouldn't make much anyway.

BVE: What was that? You don't want dinner tonight? Well if you say so. *locks door of the cell behind her and swallows key* Mwahahahahahaha!

Mark the Spokesman: *sobs* I hate my life!

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"Hey, thanks for telling me she was feeling insecure about her clothes Edward. I don't understand why she thought she looked bad though, it was the best outfit yet to me, don't you think?" I asked playfully.

Edward refused to speak as we kept speeding down the road, nearing our house with every passing second. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned ghost white, and his breath was coming out in angry snorts.

"Dude, what's wrong?" I asked as he climbed swiftly out the car.

"What the hell were you thinking Emmett? It's one thing to tell someone who is already way too suspicious of us about our family secret, but you've only known Autumn for a little over a week! Bella had already been researching about us when I told her, and I had known her for a few months!" Edward hissed, walking into the house and almost slamming to door into me.

"She's Bella's cousin Edward! And you told me she's starting to suspect something! I know I haven't known her for that long, but honestly, can you tell me that you didn't feel the exact same way about Bella that first week?"

"You know I stayed out of your head Emmett, because I know you like your privacy, but this is going too far! When were you planning on telling us that you were letting Autumn into the loop Emmett? Were you just hoping for everything to go well and bring her over here afterwards! 'See Autumn? We don't look any different now just because you know we don't have a soul. Right?'" He mocked me, pacing around the living room. The rest of the family had become totally silent, but Edward didn't seem to mind that we had an audience.

"What did Bella have to say about this? I know you told her. I heard you two arguing when we walked in." I asked quietly, bracing myself for the explosion.

"It doesn't matter what Bella thinks! She may Autumn's cousin, but she can't be certain about how Autumn will react Emmett! How could you be so careless?" His eyes glinted, and I could hear his voice rising.

"So she agrees with my decision then?" I asked in that same calm voice. Maybe if I acted calm Edward would cool down a bit. _Thanks for jumping in Jasper_, I thought sarcastically, _you're a real pal._

"Unfortunately, she does. But Bella doesn't have all the information to make a proper decision Emmett!" His voice was still loud and confronting, but he was loosing his edge. He knew perfectly well that Bella had all the information she needed to make her opinion on this subject, and I was sure her arguments must be fairly valid if Edward was flustered.

"Hear me out Edward. If I tell Autumn now, it will be easier for her to understand me better, and easier for her to trust me in the future-"

"If you two have a future" He interrupted, and his brutally honest words cut right through me.

"She might also find it easier to come to terms with the fact that Bella wants to be changed in less than a year, and she will be changed Edward. We already decided on that as a family. And if Autumn has any doubts, I'm sure Bella will help her understand. She's been through all of this after all."

Edward growled low in his throat and gnashed his teeth at my last sentence, and my mouth dropped open.

"She offered to help, didn't she? You see, Bella thinks I should do this, and is even willing to help." I said with a dejected face, hoping to guilt him. It didn't work.

"I don't like this Emmett. You made this decision without your family, but you're going to do what you want aren't you? Fine, tell Autumn. I really do hope she understands Emmett. But if she doesn't, and you blow the special thing you have with her, then don't come back home moping again, ok? I think we've all been through enough of that with you after Rose." He bit out coldly, then walked upstairs, leaving me standing alone in the kitchen. Alice bounced in after a few second and wrapped her small elfin form around me in a delicate hug.

"Don't worry Emmy. I'm sure she'll be fine. After all, this is a Swan girl we're talking about." She grinned, patted my shoulder lightly, than scampered off upstairs again.

Even with Edward's viciously words still rolling around in my head, her simply declaration lifted my spirits. Alice was a seer. If something was going to go terrible wrong, she would tell me about it. Everything was going to be fine.

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The morning brought a thick cover of clouds and the air outside looked misty, as if it had just finished raining. I woke up extra early, probably my excitement kicking in, and decided to hop in the shower. Who cared if I was just going to get dirty at the beach, I wanted to look good for Emmett. After hopping out of the steaming shower, I put on a black bikini top, which had bright green skulls and pink stars dotted all over it. I decided to wear some light-wash jeans shorts instead of swimming bottoms. I mean, we probably weren't going to actually be in the water if he was planning to rent a boat. Then I grabbed my white hoodie, intending to put it over the swim top, and made my way down the stairs, where Bella was sitting at the table eating cereal. She smiled when she saw me.

"Nice top, it's so you. But what's the hoodie for?"

"To hide my pudginess. See?" I asked, poking my slightly round belly.

"You're crazy. You look great. Besides, you won't need the jacket. I think it gets pretty chilly out there on the beach myself, but you just love the cold don't you?" She asked, wearing her small smile. Whenever I saw her smile like that I used to think that maybe she was a step ahead of everyone; knew something before we did. It had annoyed me when we were younger, but now I paid no attention. Bella had always sort of danced to the beat of her own guitar so to speak. The one time I had said that to her she had frowned a bit, then brightened up instantly.

"Well if I dance to the beat of my own guitar," she had said to me, "then you dance to the beat of your own band Autumn!" I remembered cracking up so hard that day, we had both had tears rolling down our checks. Back in the days when the only reason we ever cried was from laughing too hard. I pushed the bittersweet thoughts into the recesses of my brain and pleaded that they would stay there. I wanted today to be just about me and Emmett, and I wouldn't let anything ruin our time together. I slipped on the hoodie, and turned my attention back to Bella, who had gotten up and was washing her dishes.

"So when is he supposed to be here?" She asked, and I glanced at the clock, realizing I had been sitting there about ten minutes just thinking, and it was already 11:30.

"He should be here any-"

There was a loud knock on the door, and I found myself scrambling up to answer it, similar to how Bella had that one night when Edward was at the door. If that thought hadn't put a smile on my face, then seeing Emmett certainly would have done the trick. He looked amazing in just a white wife beater and black swim trunks.

"Hi." He said, and I couldn't help the giggle that rose up in me. He sounded like he was about to go on his first date.

"Hola. You ready?" I asked, eager to get out of the house, although I felt bad about leaving Bella home alone.

"You bet. Let's get this show on the road!" He gestured for me to go in front of him out to the car, but I turned back to Bella first. She had told me about Jacob, and how Edward wouldn't let her go and see him. I thought it was unfair, because from what Bella had told me he seemed like a great guy, who had really helped her out after the whole incident with her and Edward's first and only ugly break-up. I thought she should go and pay Jacob a visit while I was gone, and she had told me that Edward wouldn't be around for her to hang out with today. If all she had to do was go to work for a few hours...

My mom had always told me when I was little that I was intuitive, and to always trust myself when something felt right. This felt like the perfect time to give Bella her surprise. I slipped a piece of paper into Bella's hand, and prayed that Emmett wouldn't see. I didn't want anyone to know about Bella's surprise trip.

"Open this once you get to work, ok Bells? To help you get through the day." This felt like the right thing to say. I smiled, but my eyes pleaded with her to act casual. Her brow wrinkled with confusion for a moment before she seemed to mentally shrug it off and accepted the piece of paper.

"Thanks Taylor. Hopefully I'll be able to make it through the day without dying of withdrawal from both you and Edward." She laughed and I blushed at her use of that dreaded nickname. I gave her a quick hug good bye before walking out to Emmett's Jeep. When the front door closed behind us, Emmett turned to me with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Who's Taylor?" He questioned, and I laughed so hard that I thought I'd end up lying on the ground, gasping for breath.

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"So wait, what's the hoodie for?" We were driving down the interstate, and I couldn't help but admire her. She glowed with excitement, and I knew I had been right by assuming she loved the outdoors. She also looked great, and even though I couldn't see what she was wearing under the hoodie, I could see her legs, which had a nice tan-ish color and thankfully not stick skinny, like Bella's for instance.

"Well, I thought it might be a bit cold." Her eyes traveled down my body and up again, before she looked out the window, turning red.

"Does the cold bother you?" I hoped not, because the wind could get pretty chilly and the water that splashed up was pretty freezing at this time of year. I also wanted to know if maybe she would be turned off by my cold skin. My heart seemed to freeze, waiting for her answer.

"Not really. Actually not at all. I love being cold. It's better than being hot, that's for sure. The hoodie is just a precaution I guess." She smiled at me, and I had to be careful to look at the road every once in a while, so she wouldn't be totally terrified by my driving. We were already speeding down the mostly empty road, and I swerved the car every few minutes or so, to see her reaction. Could she handle my wild side?

She seemed to love the speed, and grinned when I revved the engine, making the Jeep fly past the surroundings. And every time I swerved for fun, she went wide eyed and laughed, looking so care free. We weren't even at our destination yet, and I was already having the best time of my life.

"So Taylor's your middle name huh?" I brought it up again, mostly because it annoyed her. It was fun to watch her flush with embarrassment, even though I had to remind myself not to breath. I thought the name sounded lovely. Autumn Taylor Swan. I grinned.

"Yes Emmett. Bella calls me that every time I use the nickname Bells on her. It's all in good fun usually. Pray tell, what is your middle name?"

"Dale" I muttered hesitantly. If I could flush, I would have. I hated my middle name. It was really my old human name, but I still remembered it in case I ever needed it.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked teasingly, putting one hand to cup her ear.

"So you're not the only one who hates their middle name. If it helps I like yours. It fits you. Kind of boyish, and I mean that in the best way of course." I said quickly when she raised her eyebrows.

"Well Dale is cute. Emmett Dale." She tried it, then grimaced and tried to hide it.

"You know what? I'll just call you Emmett. How about that? Emmett Cullen. Middle names aren't welcome here." She looked up at me hopefully, with wide eyes.

"Fine. No mentioning middle names." I sighed as if exasperated, and she rolled her eyes playfully. This was turning out to be the best day of my life, and it had barely started.

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**(Bella's POV)**

I fingered the piece of paper Autumn had given me and I drove my beloved truck to work. Edward was out hunting, and Emmett and Autumn were working things out on a boat at the beach. Angela and Ben were in California, taking a mini weekend vacation to celebrate their three year anniversary. And Charlie was going to a surprise 50th birthday party for his officer buddy Mark. It seemed like everyone was out doing something exciting but me.

I drove into the Newton store's parking lot, and climbed out, ignoring the wet air hitting my face. I looked up at the sky, and hoped it wouldn't storm on Autumn and Emmett. This day was important for them, and I would most likely have some explaining to do to Autumn when she got home. I walked into the store, and found Mike and his mom arguing.

"Seattle is not safe Mike! I talked to Austin's parents myself and they don't want either of you anywhere near that city right now! Oh, hello Bella!" Mrs. Newton's tone brightened considerably when she spotted me.

"Hi Mrs. Newton, hey Mike. I'm here for work." I announced, setting my vest on the counter to redo the ponytail my hair had been in. They exchanged glances, and I felt a weight settle in my chest. They didn't need me to work on slow days, and the store was practically empty.

"I'm sorry dear, but we really don't need the extra help today."

"Mom, if Bella wants to work she can stay." Mike argued and pleaded at once.

"No, its fine, I just thought you might need my help. I guess not. Have a nice day." I tried to keep my tone light as I walked out the door. The one thing I actually had to do today had backfired on me. I climbed into the truck and leaned back into the worn leather seat. What to do now?

I suddenly remembered Autumn's note, and pulled it out, unfolding it.

_Bells! Since today will most likely be sort of a lonely day for you, I suggest you go and see your old buddy, Jacob. Didn't you say he lived close to where you worked? I think you guys need to talk. I'll let Charlie know where you are when I get home of course, if you're not back by then. And I don't expect you to be! What are you still staring at this paper for? Thank me later and go see him! Lots of Love cousin, _

_-Autumn :)_

I could cry tears of happiness. Autumn was the most amazing cousin ever. I speeded out of the parking lot, and zoomed toward the invisible line that meant I would soon be home free, and with my best werewolf friend, Jacob Black.

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We were lying on the beach, a huge towel under us so we wouldn't get all sandy before going out on the water. He had his arms behind his head, and was lying out, as if soaking up the sun, even though not a sliver of sunlight could reach us through these clouds. I liked it that way though; it meant I wouldn't get all hot and sweaty in front of Emmett. I reached my hand out and poked him on the nose. He opened one eye and looked at me, making me chuckle. He sat up, and opened the cooler, pulling out a soda can and a water bottle. He held up both with an eyebrow raised at me. I grabbed the water bottle.

"Soda isn't good for the body you know." I informed him, and he pulled me down next to him, pressing my warm body against his cold, hard one. The water bottle was pressed in between my stomach and his side, and I sniggered when he jumped slightly at its coldness. I couldn't feel it through my hoodie, so I sat up and pulled it off, messing up my hair. I could feel Emmett's eyes on me as I quickly undid my ponytail and put the hair band around my wrist, and threw the hoodie to the corner of the towel. Emmett immediately pulled me back down to him, and I gasp at his cold arm wrapped around my midsection, but grabbed onto his arm to make sure he wouldn't pull away. We sat like that just staring at each other with curious, heated eyes before I looked away, and watched the waves hit the shore a few feet away.

"So Emmett, will you tell me about Rose?"

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A/N: *ducks objects being thrown at her* Don't kill me! I promise that I will write them talking and going out on the boat next chapter! Reviews will help me write that much faster though! *wink wink*


	9. Drown Me In Love

A/N: Here is the chapter that you all have been waiting for, in more ways than one! ;] If you like the chapter, REVIEW!

Mark the Spokesman: This is getting old really fast, woman! *tugs at chains on his wrists*

BVE: Uh huh, just do your job buddy boy, and I might let you have dinner tonight.

Mark the Spokesman: Her name is not Stephanie Meyer, which means she does not own Twilight, and it is illegal for her to make money off of this fic. So she's broke basically.

BVE: Very nice. *begins to walk away*

Mark the Spokesman: So hungry…. *looks at her pathetically*

BVE: Oh yeah! And it's a good thing too, because tonight's dinner is just for you!

Mark the Spokesman: What is it?

BVE: Pickled pigs feet, liver and onions, and brussel sprouts encrusted with pork rinds! Doesn't that sound tasty?!

Mark the Spokesman: *gags*

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**(Edward's POV)**

"How did this happen?" My voice came out hard, and my hands were held in tight fists. I wanted to punch something so bad it hurt. Alice was a seer, so why hadn't she seen Bella's plans to escape to La Push?

"Edward, it must have been a split second decision. If she had had any plans I would have known. You did ask me to keep an eye out for her you know, and I'm trying my best. It'd be nice if you would not yell at me." She declared, mildly annoyed, and seemingly uncaring about Bella's current situation. A growl escaped and echoed throughout the inside of my silver Volvo.

"Bella is going to be fine, Edward. I'm sure Jacob cares about her enough to be careful around her."

"Those _dogs_ are never careful enough." I stated through clenched teeth. There was going to be hell to pay once she crossed that border line. A theatrical sigh came from the seat across me and I felt my patience with her rapidly deteriorating.

"I'm leaving, since I can tell you're about to blow up at me any minute now, again."

"No, Alice, you don't have to leave." I said in a weary voice. I knew Alice hadn't done anything wrong, in fact she had done the right thing by letting me know about Bella immediately, and even being supportive in coming with me. However I couldn't help but feel antsy with Bella out of my reach. I hated not being able to protect her. If she didn't come back soon, screw the treaty, I was going over there and dragging her back where she belongs; with me.

"It's fine. I need to burn some energy anyway. I'll just run back. Good luck Edward, and don't be too hard on her." She pecked me quickly on the cheek before getting out and speeding away. I sighed, and turned my attention back to the road, searching for any sign of an old, rusty red truck.

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_"So Emmett, will you tell me about Rose?"_

Her question seemed to come from out of nowhere, but I knew that it was time for me to come clean about my beloved Rose. Still, I just about choked on my answer.

"What would you like to know?" I was hesitant to let her have free range, but I believed she deserved to know. Besides, it would lead up to a bigger confession I had to make today as well. She stared down at me with those brown eyes that I loved so much, but I couldn't read any emotion in them. It was as if she had prepared for this, so she wouldn't hurt me with her reactions. I cursed her and blessed her for that. At times I wished I was able to hear people's thoughts, like Edward. Now I could better understand why it was so hard for him to hear silence when he searched for Bella's thoughts.

Tracing her fingers up and down my arm, she stared out at the ocean, obviously trying to come up with an answer. When her eyes snapped back to mine suddenly, I knew she had decided on her answer.

"Tell me everything." She whispered, and I sighed. Everything was a lot to ask, and by her hesitant tone she knew that too.

"If you want to know everything, then you'll get to know everything. Let's walk." I sprung up to my feet, and offered her a hand, helping her up. We started off down the beach, me leading and her following right beside me. After a few steps she twined her hand in mine, and I was amazed at how natural it felt. The sun was still hidden by the clouds, and a light breeze was blowing. I noticed how her hair tossed gently in the wind, and how goose bumps had popped up on her arms, but she was smiling slightly, leaning into him and into the wind at the same time. I squeezed her hand before letting them fall apart. For some reason, I didn't want to be holding hands with her as I talked about Rose. I knew it was silly, but for now it didn't feel right. Not when I was about to reveal practically everything about her, about _us_. Autumn seemed to understand, and pushed her hands into pockets as the continued to walk along. Finally, I took a deep breath, and began.

"We met in high school, at the house I still live in today actually. I remember the first time I saw her. She was very striking, with long blonde hair, almost violet eyes, and a sweet, but confident smile. Rose was always very sure of herself, but often needed constant praise. We hit it off as soon as we met, and soon friendship blossomed into a romance. The family loved Rose, and I soon realized I loved her. I was lucky enough to have her love me back. The only thing about Rose is that she wanted to get married, wanted a wedding. And not just you're run of the mill wedding. We're talking expensive flowers, swan carved of ice, big poofy dress and a thousand people there to witness it all, type of wedding. Of course I didn't want to spoil her fun, so I proposed that we hold a small family wedding in order to have the real one after we finished high school, and to stave of her vicious want to just be married already." I stopped my tale and looked down at Autumn suddenly. Her eyes were locked on the waves, and I couldn't make out a hint of what she was thinking. So I asked.

"She sounds wonderful, perfect even." She replied, obviously trying to sound breezy and uncaring. She failed.

"Oh don't get me wrong, Rose and I fought. A lot. You see, I would always accuse her of just wanting to be married, no matter who it was she was being bound to. And she would always get defensive and say that she couldn't believe I had declared such a wretched thing of her, then flee the room. After about five minutes I would go to her and apologize and everything would be fine again. For a little while. Now that I think about it, our relationship was a roller coaster of up's and down's."

"Well at least it wasn't dull and never exciting. I'd rather be fighting all the time than be in a relationship with everything always going right. There's no challenge in that." She added thoughtfully, and then gestured for me to carry on. At this my heart sank. I couldn't tell her anything more about Rose and me without informing her of our "condition", and I wasn't ready to do that yet. So I plowed ahead, hoping I could keep it together.

"Rose was the type of person who could attract a roomful of men and not even know it. Or at least, she would act oblivious. It was a game she had used to play, back when she hadn't known me. I hate to admit it, but Rose was just a huge sucker for romance. One night, after a huge blowout between me and her, she went to a bar, far out in Seattle. She didn't know anyone there, but I could guess that she had captured the eye of every man on the room. It was foolish, incredibly foolish for her to drive out by herself, but Rose didn't think before she acted, ever. So when she walked out of that bar, piss drunk, and saw a couple of men following behind her, talking quietly, she wasn't surprised. She was taken marital arts earlier in life, and followed through with her training. Rose was strong, not prissy and girly like you would think, and knew how to kick some ass. Unfortunately, they weren't as dumb as they looked. They overpowered her, even though she was stronger than them all, three against one was just too much."

Here I stopped, swallowed painfully, and glanced over at Autumn. Her lips were pressed together, and was shaking her head, as if she knew what was coming. It was kind of hard not to get the concept. We both took a deep breath, and I went on.

"When her body was found, there were bruises, lots of bruises, but no sign of sexual assault. Her clothes were torn, soaked in blood, and her neck sliced clean, no sign of struggle the police said. It was as if she gave up in the end." Autumn stopped, and hung her head, but I kept walking. I was shaking, remembering what had really happened. Her limbs had been torn apart, chunks of flesh and blood splattered against the walls and sidewalk. Her neck hadn't just been sliced, but her whole head was lying a few feet away from her body, two jagged sets of teeth marks embedded in the once flawless skin of her neck. I had simply lain there that night, cradling her body, and her head, and weeping silent tears at not being able to cradle both at once.

Of course she had to be burned, to keep her from returning to life in decayed pieces. I hadn't been there, but it was as if I could smell the smoke from on top of the mountains I sat upon. What use was it if I had froze out there? Rose was gone, lost forever, and I never had a chance to say goodbye.

"Emmett."

I stopped walking and turned back. Autumn was a quite a few feet away, but slowly catching up, her eyes locked with mine, making it impossible to turn away. She closed the distance between us and, with her eyes glistening with tears, and wrapped me in her arms. I may have been twice her size, but I felt like a child again in her comforting embrace. I'd be damned if I cried in front of Autumn, but the weight in my heart lightened even more while in her arms. After who knows how long, we both pulled away, and she sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, making her eyes the whites of her eyes turn slightly red.

"You know," I said suddenly, "you're eyes look so much greener when you're crying." It was true; her watery gaze came up to meet mine, and she laughed for the first time in what had seemed like ages, when really it had most likely only been thirty minutes.

"Great, now all I have to do it cry all the time to make my eyes more exotic!" She said, shaking her head and laughing. Once her chuckles had resided, she glanced up at me again with a serious face.

"I am so sorry Emmett. No one should ever have to go through what you and Rose had to."

"Autumn, it happened a little over a year ago, and it still hurts. I hope you can understand that I'll always have feelings for her." I said questioningly, praying she wouldn't feel put out. She simply smiled.

"I expect that, and commend you for it. I'd be shocked if it were any other way. I mean honestly, do you think I intended to waltz into this town and expect to win the hearts of millions, including yours? No, I understand completely. As long as there's room for me in your heart I'm perfectly content." She grinned up at me slyly, and I laughed, pulling her into another hug, whispering my reply in her ear.

"Always."

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My mind was whirling. After Emmett's story about Rose, we continued walking down the beach until we reached a little dock with about a dozen boats tied to it. I almost squealed in delight at the sight of the boats. He really had gotten us a boat for the day. He climbed up onto the dock, then lifted me by my arms up beside him, where I proceeded to throw my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek, brushing my lips softly against his freezing skin.

"You're amazing." I said, and tingles shot up and down my body when I saw his eyes darken playfully. I unhooked myself from him and began to skip down the dock, hoping I wouldn't trip and fall flat on my ass in front of Emmett. He followed after me, finally reaching out and tugging on my arm, jerking me back and keeping me from skipping any farther. We stood in front a beautiful white sailboat. It had a deck, the wooden poles for the sails, and a thin rail to keep us from falling into the water. I absolutely loved it. I could see myself on that boat, sitting there watching Emmett tighten and loosen the sails. I grinned delightedly up at him.

"Is this ours?" I asked, itching to stroke to side and see if it was slippery or simply glossy.

"This is it. Wanna take it for a spin?" His eyes sparkled at my resounding "Hell yes!" and we climbed aboard. After taking care of all the necessary preparations, Emmett untied us from the dock, and we were off. At first the boat moved lazily through the water, and that was fine for a few minutes. But it became slightly boring once we were done checking out the view and looking down at the water below us. So we decided to kick it up a notch. And boy could this baby fly. Soon the wind was whipping through my hair as I stood at the front of the deck and held onto the rail, relishing each clash of the waves against the boat, and shivering at the mist that flew upwards every time. My skin was soon freezing to the touch, and my hair was plastered to my face and head. Shaking it wildly, I laughed, and turned to motion for Emmett to join me. He was leaning against one of the poles, watching me with dark eyes, and smiling sexily. Ay dios mio, that boy is so fine.

I was about to go over and fetch my dark prince when the sky opened up, and rain poured down on me. I gasped at its icy temperature, but was having to much fun to care! I threw my hands up and twirled around on deck dancing in the rain, and letting the drops fall on my tongue. I closed my eyes and just let the rain splatter my face. When I opened them again, Emmett was right beside me. He pulled my body to his and buried his head in the crook of my neck, kissing the sensitive skin there. My eyes fluttered closed and my face titled over and up, to give him better access. This was the most incredibly day of my life.

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She looked like a goddess out there, spinning around in her little black bikini top and shorts. The rain fell down hard, and watching her made me want to just be near her, to touch her. I walked over, and waited for her eyes to open before laying my head on her shoulder. The rain and the salty spray of the ocean almost completely masked her scent, which was good, because it was already taking a good part of my concentration to not bite her. Without her scent overpowering my head, I risked laying soft kisses on her neck, and felt her arch toward me. The rain provided the perfect guise for my cold lips on her skin, and I thanked the gods for at least letting me have this one day.

Being up close to her like this, with fresh blood flowing rapidly through her veins, and her heart pumping faster made me crazy for her. I took a deep breath, inhaling her diluted scent, then exhaled on her neck, and felt her shiver. I pressed another kiss to her neck, and let my tongue brush lightly over her chilly skin. She jumped, then moaned.

"Emmett…" Her head was titled far back and her breathing was accelerated. I realized a little too late that I was pushing myself too far; the insane urge to bite her was overwhelming me. I couldn't stop myself; I was going to bite her.

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I could barely stop the moans that wanted to rise up form inside me at what Emmett was doing. The rain was still pounding down on the boat, and the wind was picking up, but the only thing I could concentrate on was Emmett's lips on my skin. The muscles in my neck ached slightly from being in such an odd position for so long, but I could care less when his tongue just barely swept across where his lips had been a few second earlier. I pressed myself closer to him, wanting more. His mouth opened wide as he breathed a mix of hot and cold air on my neck. My heart rate doubled.

Neither of us was prepared for the sudden gust of wind, and the violent wave that hit the side of the boat. My back hit the metal railing, and Emmett was thrown across the deck, hitting the rail perpendicular to me. I was still dazed from Emmett's ministrations on my neck, and wasn't thinking. I got to my feet and let go of the railing, intending to go see if Emmett was alright, right as another wave crashed into the boat. It all happened so fast, I hit the railing, but it didn't stop me as I tumbled over the edge of the boat, and was suddenly falling next to the rain in mid-air.

"Autumn!" I heard Emmett call out before I was enveloped in icy water. I could hear the wind whipping above the water, and the waves rolling over me, but other than that it was silent; dead silent. I kicked my legs and used my arms, frantically trying to find where the water ended and the air began. It seemed like I was in cyclone underwater, because the more I swam the colder and darker it seemed to get. Was I sinking, swimming further down to my ultimate death? My lungs threatened to burst, so I blew out whatever air I had left, in some hope that I could lessen the mounting pressure in my chest. Just as I was thinking about abandoning my swimming efforts, I broke surface and pulled as much air into my lungs as I could before another huge wave crashed into me, and I was dragged down into the arctic depths again.

After a few moments more struggling to surface again, I felt something brush my leg and just about screamed bloody murder in the water. When I felt hands wrap around my torso and pull me up I realized it was probably Emmett. I clung to him, and tried my best to help him by kicking my feet. We floated up to the air, and both of us were gasping. I knew any second now another wave would come and knock us under again.

"Do you trust me?" He whispered hurriedly.

"Of course." I answered, and he pulled my under, swimming in a new direction now. I could feel the current fighting against us, and I kicked desperately, until I felt pins and needles in my legs, and then I kicked even harder. Some of the chilly water had found its way into my mouth, and I tired to cough it up, just ending up getting more in my mouth. Finally the waves became less threatening, the wind wasn't blowing as hard, and I could touch the sand below me with my tiptoes. We crawled up on the sand, and I collapsed, coughing up the salty water that made my throat feel raw. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the burning in them now that I was out of the water and not in danger of drowning anymore.

"Autumn, are you alright? Autumn look at me, you're not hurt are you?" Emmett's voice reached me through the fuzziness I felt in my head. I was numb all over, so cold that even Emmett's skin felt warm. He was rubbing my arms, and speaking in a worried tone. I opened my eyes, cringing at the light now shining through the dense clouds. It was a small opening, and I was surprise that the sun could even think of shining in this weather. But looking up at Emmett leaning over me, I could see why. The rays of light were hitting him perfectly, and it I was an artist I would have wanted to capture this image forever, even knowing that no painting could do him justice. His skin was literally sparkling, and I assumed it from the drops of water that still clung to him.

"You're shiny." I pointed out, and he slipped his arms under me, giving me a warm hug. The sand dug into my back, but I could care less. Emmett was in my arms, and we were both alright. He lifted his head up, and a few drops of water splashed onto my face, and dripped onto my lips.

"Sorry." He said, and went to brush the water off me with his thumb then stopped. His eyes darkened, and his eyes looked conflicted. The sun was going to disappear any minute, and so I took action. I grabbed the back of his head, running my fingers through his soft curly hair, and pulled his lips down to mine. I pressed as close to him as I could, and relished the feel of his cool lips against my own, my head spinning. His whole body pressed into mine and the sun beat down on the parts of us that weren't touching each other. I held on tightly to the back of his head, and moved my lips against his, causing him to groan and hold me even tighter. I wrapped my other arm around his upper body and splayed my hands out on his bare back. I hadn't noticed he had taken his shirt off until now. I ran my finger down his spine, and had the pleasure of hearing him growl in the back of his throat. He abruptly pulled away, and moved his head off to the side. I continued to stroke his hair, watching the sparkles on his back fade away as the sun disappeared behind the clouds. He was surprisingly pale, but I loved it. It made him look so striking, with his dark hair and golden eyes.

"We should go tell someone about the boat." I said absently, still playing with his hair.

"I think it's being taken care of." He said, pulling up and away from me. The air hit all the places where his body had been and I refrained from shivering. He glanced out at the horizon, and I did too. There were two boats out in the distance, one large blue one tugging along a smaller white one. I smiled, and lay back on the sand, replaying everything that had gone on today. So much had happened, it seemed like years had passed since this morning.

"We'd better go looking for the Jeep and our little picnic area before the rain reaches us here." He said, but seemed reluctant to get up. I placed my hand on his cheek, smiled, then carefully climbed to my feet. He hopped up immediately to see if I could walk, but I shooed him away, and ran down the beach, shooting a glance over my shoulder and smiling cheekily. He caught up to me quickly, then passed me, stopping every once and a while to let me catch up. By the time we found the car I was about ready to pass out. He gathered everything and stuffed it in the trunk quickly, handed me my hoodie, and we took off, heading for home. We didn't really talk on the way back to Forks, we didn't have to. Our matching smiles said it all.

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A/N: Ay dios mio is "Oh my god" in Spanish, for all the ones who are challenged when it comes to other languages. :P

I promise the next chapter Emmett will drop the "v" word! Gotta break up these confessions into readable chapters, you know. ;]

Longest chapter yet! I congratulate myself. Thank you, me. No prob, anytime BVE. :}

Well, what do you think? Drop me a review and I'll update faster! By the way, the next chapter features Emmett and Autumn (duh)…alone...in Bella's bedroom… :]]


	10. Confessions

A/N: Oh gosh. I am so sorry for the wait, life has been hectic lately and this chapter kicked my butt. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but once school starts the waits will only get longer. I hope you wonderful reviewers hang in there with me, and keep in mind that every bit of feedback helps!

Mark the Spokesman: Jeez, were you planning on making me useful anytime soon? I feel like I've been huddled in this cell for almost two weeks! My hair was starting to turn gray lady!

BVE: *sobs hysterically* Why is everyone attacking me? I'm sorry! Sometimes life gets in the way of things!

Mark the Spokesman: Oh shit. O.o

BVE: *sinks to floor and continues crying*

Mark the Spokesman: *pats awkwardly on the shoulder* If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry you aren't making an profit off of this, and that Twilight can never belong to you.

BVE: *sniff* Thank you for your pity.

Mark the Spokesman: Anytime.

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The rain pounded down on the roof of Emmett's Jeep. We were parked in my driveway, and seeing as how Charlie's police cruiser wasn't there and neither was Bella's truck, I figured we must have the house to ourselves. But I was too comfy to move, snuggled down in the leather interior with my hoodie on, trying to keep my body temperature up. Emmett had the side of his head resting on the steering wheel and his eyes focused on me. Every time he looked at me a smile crept onto my face; I almost hated the fact that I couldn't control it. Before Emmett had come along, I was able to slip a mask on my face whenever I needed to, hide my emotions, and keep to myself while still acting normal. But something about his active, yet still gentle demeanor threatened to break me open, cut me down until my heart, mind, and soul were on the table for him to see. And if that happened, he would leave. Because who wants damaged goods?

"Hey, where are you?" he sat up, his eyes searching my face. I laughed.

"I'm right here, crazy. Or has the ocean water affected your eyes?" I joked.

"No, you looked a million miles away. What were you thinking about?" He asked, still serious. He must think I hit my head on the fall, and now have a concussion. Great.

"Oh, just about stuff, you know."

"Actually, I don't know. What kind of stuff?"

"Just about my family and crap like that." I muttered. Oh lovely, the last subject on Earth I wanted to discuss and I had practically begged for him to take advantage of it.

"Oh, I see. Homesick?" He asked understandingly, then furrowed his brow at my hasty reply.

"No, not at all. The opposite in fact." I mentally cringed. Time to get off this topic, now.

"Would you like to come inside?" I asked quickly, and he stared at me a second more before nodding. Before I could even think about moving he leapt out of the Jeep and was gone. I sat up, searching through the dark rain to catch a glimpse of him, and gasped when my side door was opened. I hurriedly unbuckled my seat belt, and scrambled out of the car into the downpour. He grabbed my arm and firmly led me to the house, where he fumbled with the house key I had just handed him. I laughed as my teeth started to chatter. I loved this kind of rain; the kind that soaked you to the bone, as if to cleanse your soul of impurities. Yes, this was my type of rain.

Finally the door creaked open and Emmett rushed me inside. I sat down on the couch, fully aware that all of my clothes were soaked, but I could care less. I could hear Emmett muttering under his breath as he covered me with the throw blanket and jogged to the kitchen.

"Probably thinks...trying to get her killed...almost falls...death...ocean...now rain....probably has a concussion....laughing like a lunatic...possible brain damage..."

I felt laughter bubble up inside me, but squashed it until he rounded the corner and I heard some cabinets banging from the kitchen. By the time he returned my giggles had worn off and I was feeling a little warmer. My heart melted the tiniest more when he handed me a cup of hot chocolate. I smiled gratefully, not sure what to say and decidedly blew the steam away from the frothy brown liquid and sipped. The trickle of warmth felt great, and I lifted my hand to pat the sofa beside me. He sat down and I snuggled against him, huffing when he wouldn't let me out of the blanket that cocooned me and kept me from touching him. Still, it felt nice to just be near him.

"We have some things to talk about tonight." He said abruptly, and I swear the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. I shivered, but shushed Emmett before he could start fussing over me.

"What kind of things?" I asked cautiously, not sure what to expect.

"Well, at the expense of sounding selfish, we need to talk about me." He said, and a weight lifted off my chest. As long as we didn't need to delve deep into my life, I would be fine.

"That request does not sound unreasonable at all. Proceed." I said smiling, and picked my head up from his shoulder to look into his eyes. But they were focused on something far away, and I wondered how serious this talk would need to be.

"You see, before we take this any further, there are things about me you need to know. Important things. Like the fact that I'm not human."

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**(Bella's POV)**

I didn't know how much gas was left in my tank, and the thought terrified me. As soon as I had neared the treaty line Edward's car had been there, waiting. But I refused to act like the submissive, scared, girly one in this relationship, so I had taken off at full speed, around 50 for my truck, and raced off to Mike's house. Seeing as how Angela was still on her special trip with Ben, and Autumn and Emmett were most likely at the house by now, I had nowhere else to go without taking a risk of being followed by Edward. So I was taking drastic measures, and trying desperately to remember Mike's address. Hopefully I had enough fuel to get to his house and back, because I knew I couldn't have that much left.

I kept on driving, no one on the road except for me and the silver ghost always behind me. The steady pace and the fact that he had turned off all his lights was pretty scary, but I could have ignored it if it hadn't been for the burning, demanding stare of his eyes through my rearview mirror. I could imagine how he looked right now, and the thought kept me inside my car and on the road.

Finally instinct, and sheer dumb luck, found me parked outside of Mike's house. I wasted no time in hopping out and banging on the door, anxious to get to safety before Edward could realize was I was doing. Of course, he probably already knew, but still, I didn't plan on taking any chances. Mrs. Newton answered the door with an enthusiastic smile, and Mike came to stand behind her, waving and grinning ear to ear.

I admit, it wasn't the best decision I ever made, but desperate times call for desperate measures. After spending about half an hour talking with Mike and his mother on the couch, she excused herself and left me and Mike alone.

"I was really surprised to see you at the door Bella. In a good way, of course, you know, but what brought you here?" He asked excitedly.

"I was just driving around and decided to stop by and say hello." I said, skirting around a landmine of truths.

"Oh, well, I'm glad you did. Jessica's been talking about how you're so self-absorbed and only care about the Cullen's, but I think she's just jealous because she's not as skinny and pretty as you are. She said that she didn't want anything to do with you, but it's been nice talking to you lately Bella, now that the whole thing with Edward last year has blown over." He babbled, ignorant to my slight cringes at his mention of Edward. And I had almost fooled myself into thinking I'd forgotten about him.

"I'm glad it's over too Mike and I enjoy talking to you as well. But it's late, and I better get home." I rose, and he followed me as I walked out the door and to my truck. I was almost grateful for his puppy dog qualities this time. I started the engine, waved goodbye, and set off towards home. Immediately a silver Volvo made itself shown and I sighed.

"Fine, I'm going home, you crazy stalker." I muttered under my breath, hoping he could hear me.

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If I had air to breathe, I would have held it, anxiously awaiting her reply to those last words. I hadn't exactly beaten around the bush; I just wanted to get this confession off my chest, and hope for the best. She was worth this, and even if she took it badly, I told myself I wouldn't regret it. But every moment of silence that passed made me more and more unsure about my decision. Was it too soon? Did I say it the wrong way? Did I even know her well enough to say this? All these thoughts swarmed around in my head until I thought I was going to lose it. And then she spoke.

"Not human eh? Well it figures, you must be an advanced alien species, you're too perfect. Or maybe you're a werewolf, since you're so big and cuddly."

"You think I could be one of those _dogs_?" I stammered out disgustedly before realizing she was just making an innocent, oblivious, uneducated comment. That calmed me a bit, and I continued.

"Autumn, I realize this may be a little hard to grasp here, but I'm trying to tell you something that you need to hear."

"Well then just say it Emmett. You don't have to try and ease the blow by making jokes and getting me to laugh first. I promise I'll try my best to understand."

"That's just it, I'm not joking, you see, even though I look and act like a human I'm actually-"

"Emmett, come on, stop playing around and just talk to me. You don't have to pretend-"

"I'm not pretending!" I shouted, and saw her eyes widen as the couch shook a bit. I may have said that a little too loud, but I needed to get the point across and I saw no other way to do it.

"Damn it Autumn, I'm not like you. I'm honestly, truly, not human. I was once, but I'm not now." I said firmly, trying to get it to sink in. It didn't.

"Emmett," she said slowly after a long moment of silence, "this isn't funny.

"It isn't supposed to be. I'm being serious, I swear. Tell me, have you ever seen me eat real food, or take a drink of water? And in all the time that you've known me have I ever had one blemish of any kind on my face? Do you ever see me basking in the sun, or get hurt ever? Autumn, I'm not like you. I'm a vampire." I said, letting my gaze drop from her face momentarily before looking back up again. She looked at me with wonder, her eyes focused and narrowed, which made me confused. Where was the horror, the screaming, the harsh rejection?

"I know I must have seen you eat...and you've been out in the sun before, haven't you? I mean, this can't be true..." she said, talking to herself as she examined me. I shook my head slowly.

"I swear on my undead soul, that I am not lying to you. My skin is rock hard and ice cold, because I'm unnatural. I'm extraordinarily strong, and just by being me, I'm a violation to nature."

"Wait, why can't you go into the sun?" she asked. I knew she would have questions, but she didn't seem to be asking the expected ones.

"I can, it's not like I'll become a pile of dust if I do. It's just like, well, I sparkle. Kind of like I spread glittery lip-gloss all over my body. It's rather noticeable, and not normal. So I avoid sunlight."

"What about the other Cullen's, and Bella, I mean, do they know?" I cringed at her question. I had already talked to Edward about it, so everyone knew, but technically we hadn't discussed it as a family. But I had already let the cat out of the bag, so there was no point in lying now.

"My whole family is like me. We aren't technically related; we simply travel with each other, and call ourselves a family to make it seem, well, ordinary. Bella has known about Edward for a long time, and still loves him regardless."

"Oh, so every one of the Cullen's are, um, not human? Are you guys the only vampires, or are there more? And do they usually travel in groups like you do?" She asked, the questions spilling out of her mouth.

"Not usually. Most vampires are either loners or travel in groups of three or less. Our family is...unique."

"Well how did you become a vampire in the first place?"

"That's a story for another day, alright?" I asked gently.

"Oh, ok..." She trailed off, staring at the couch. Her blanket had become unwrapped from her body and she was fiddling with the fringes on the edge.

"You forgot the most important question." I said quietly. Her head snapped up and her fingers stilled.

"I did?"

"There is the slightly imperative question about my diet. Don't you want to know if I guzzle blood like it was soda on a regular basis?" I asked bitterly.

"Well obviously you don't. And if you do then it doesn't hurt anybody. You'd never do that to anyone." She sounded confident, her voice only wavering the tiniest bit. I couldn't keep the smile from spreading across my face.

"You're right. We, the Cullen's, all travel together because we call ourselves "vegetarians". Basically we live off of animal blood, not human. But that doesn't mean that we're immune to the temptation of human blood." I warned, knowing I had to be fair and tell her everything.

"I trust you Emmett." She whispered, those brown eyes staring right through my soul. How had I ever doubted her? Without thinking about it, I pulled her to by body and crushed my lips to hers. She gasped and grabbed my shoulders. I stiffened, thinking maybe that after everything I had just said I was being to rough, but her hands weren't pushing me away. They were holding me in place, pulling me closer, begging for more. I wrapped my arms around her middle and crossed them behind her back, running my fingers up and down her spine. Her hands moved to my hair, and she tugged me closer still, molding our bodies together. I realized that if I was human that probably would have hurt. _She_ was being rather rough with_ me._

We rocked our bodies together, and I softened the kiss, trying to regain some control. Finally she pulled her lips from mine and inhaled deeply, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering.

"Wow." She breathed, and I nodded, letting my head drop against her shoulder, making sure my nose wasn't placed directly by her neck. I had already pushed myself too far tonight. Already dark thoughts were swirling in the back of my mind, and I definitely didn't want them to surface while I was still recovering from our heated kiss.

"I should go." I said suddeny, sitting up as I heard Bella's truck pull into the driveway and Edward's Volvo follow suit.

"Why?" She asked, then heard the truck door slam.

"Oh." She bit her bottom lip worriedly, and got up from the couch, making me stand up to help her when she almost tripped over the couch leg. She rushed to the door, seeming a bit uneasy. What was going on?

"Bella?" Autumn called out anxiously, and ran out into the darkness. I jogged slowly after her.

"Edward?" Bella's tentative voice cut through the darkness, and I followed Autumn to where Bella was standing. She looked a little shaken, and was peering out into the woods.

"Hey, are you ok? Did you end up going to see Jacob?"

I froze when I heard Autumn's question. Bella had gone to La Push, and been with the wolves? Now that I thought about it, she reeked. It took some willpower not to plug m nose and lead Autumn back inside. Yuck. I came to stand behind the girls, trying to ignore the pungent scent filling the air.

"Bella, I think you should go inside, Edward can't be happy right now. I'll go and talk to him." I said, shot a glance at Autumn, then swiftly bounded into the woods. The last thing I heard was Autumn's comment to Bella before the silence of the woods swallowed me.

"So, Bella, when were you going to mention that my super hot, possible boyfriend Emmett is a vampire?"

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"Oh gosh, he told you! I'm so sorry Autumn, but I thought that he should be the one to tell you, because, you know, you guys are involved with each other. So, what do you think?" She asked as we shuffled inside and trudged up the stairs.

"I think that right now I'm amazed. I knew there was something special about that boy, but I never would have guessed he's...immortal? Do they live forever? I forgot to ask." I mumbled, embarrassed, and my cousin laughed.

"Yes, they do. Only being burned or decapitated, preferably both, can kill a vampire."

"So, the whole wooden stake through the heart thing isn't true? And the silver bullet?"

"Silver bullet is wolves, and even that isn't true."

"What, do you happen to hang out with a pack of werewolves too?" I asked, laughing.

Bella coughed. I glanced at her.

"Bella..."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, they aren't exactly werewolves...more like wolf men. Boys really."

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"Yo, dude, where are you? I know you can't be happy right now, but what happened?"

"She made a split second decision and decided to pay those filthy dogs a visit." Edward's voice came from high up in a tree and I sighed, settling myself down against the trunk and putting my hands behind my head.

"Well at least she's alright man. They didn't hurt her, and I'm sure she's glad she went. Maybe you guys should make a compromise, because you can't keep getting mad at her every time she runs off."

"Every time? This isn't _ever_ going to happen again. I'll make sure of that." He bit out coldly.

"Do you know how much of a prick you sound like? You can't control her Edward, and even though you're just trying to protect her, you're taking this too far. They're friends man, and she's either going to keep finding ways to see him or get tired of the way you're acting."

"They could hurt her!" He swung from out of the tree and landed on the ground in front of me, looking furious.

"So could you Edward. Every moment we stay here we take the risk of hurting the ones we've grown close to." I said softly, and watched the fight drain out of him.

"What if she had been hurt?" He asked, settling down beside me.

"Then you would have broken the treaty and started war between us, which is only one reason why they're careful bro. I doubt they want to hurt Bella any more than we do."

"I suppose." He said grudgingly, and I laughed.

"I'm glad you see my side brother." He smiled reluctantly, and then glanced over suddenly.

"How'd Autumn take the news? I wasn't really feeling...well when I arrived so I didn't check her thoughts."

"She took it well." I said, smiling as I remembered our kiss on the couch.

"Woah, too much information." Edward said as he climbed to his feet.

"Hey, it's your fault for eavesdropping on my thoughts. Now come on, I wanna go see my girl."

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A/N: Well there you go. Now please click on that little review button below these words, because even though I love to write, I'd like to know that I'm not doing this for nothing. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but reviews will speed along the process. Thanks so much.


	11. Too Much

Mark the Spokesman: Um...you alright?

BVE: *stares into corner* I'm fine.

Mark the Spokesman: *shifts nervously* You sure?

BVE: Positive.

Mark the Spokesman: ....

BVE: *continues staring*

Mark the Spokesman: Are you upset that you don't own Twilight and that you aren't even allowed to make money off of your hard work?

BVE: Nope.

Mark the Spokesman: Oh....well then can you let me out? *tugs on cage bars*

BVE: Not gonna happen.

Mark the Spokesmen: Damn.

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"Werewolves?!" I screeched, pacing the room, periodically running my hands through my hair. This was not happening. I could deal with my dream guy being a vampire, but now suddenly Bella's best friend is one of their worst enemies? What is up with that?

"Is everyone ok? Did someone werewolves?" Emmett and Edward burst into the room, looking around and sniffing the air.

"Well they aren't here thank goodness!" I huffed, sitting on the bed, then jumping up again to walk around some more. I couldn't make myself stay still.

"Autumn, they aren't werewolves exactly. Like I said, they only change when they want to." Bella pleaded with me.

"That's not necessarily true…"Edward mumbled, and Bella shot him a deadly glare.

"They aren't dangerous-" Edward coughed, and Bella stopped talking, whirling to face her boyfriend.

"I was with him all day and look at me! I'm fine!"

"They aren't safe Bella." He said calmly, but his eyes looked stormy and his voice has hard. This was obviously a touchy subject for them.

"They were plenty safe last summer when you couldn't be bothered to worry about me any longer." She said coldly, then stalked out of the room, her eyes looking watery. I tried to follow Edward as he went after her, but Emmett stopped me.

"They need to talk." He whispered in my ear.

"You're right." I sighed; feeling tired all of a sudden. I collapsed on my bed, and curled up so Emmett would have room to sit. But he just walked over and placed a hand on the side of my face.

"Edward and Bella won't talk much longer, because Charlie will be home any minute, so we have to go." He kept his hand in place for a few second longer, then stood up straight, walking toward the window.

"But I'll see you tomorrow." He turned, flashed me bright smile, then leapt out the window into the darkness. I climbed out of bed and ran to the window, peering out to see if I could see him. But all I could see was the black of night.

"Boo." His face popped up before me, and I would have leapt back had he not cupped my warm face in his cold hands. He leaned in and placed a cool kiss on my lips, and I opened my mouth to breathe in his delicious scent. I didn't think I would ever tire of his touch. He pulled back, gave me one last look that made my heart ache, and then was gone again. The room was warm again, too warm, and it had nothing to do with the heater kicking on. I placed my fingers on my lips, and sighed at my own ridiculous fanatical actions. What was I, his own personal vampire fan-girl? I don't think so. But even as my rebellious side told me to guard my heart, I couldn't help but feel excitement when I thought about seeing him again. That side of me believed that tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

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"Well, that went better than I expected. I totally thought she'd go all crazy woman on me when I told her." I said conversationally, trying to get Edward to talk. Ever since Bella's hurtful outburst he'd been even more reserved than usual. He sat on the couch, looking out at the woods, and I was leaning against the wall, hesitant about sitting next to him. He might snap, and direct it at me.

"I'm glad she understood." His tone was emotionless, so I took the risk and walked over, plopping myself unceremoniously next to him.

"What's bothering you dude? Is it what Bella said? You shouldn't have to explain yourself all the time."

"In my whole never-ending life I will never be able to make it up to her. And I will never forgive myself for putting her through that."

"It's all in the past man. Everyone is fine now, so stop worrying about it. You can't let her use that as a weapon every time she wants to get a pint across. It's not right. She's made mistakes as well, but you never throw them back in her face. She's not being fair to you Eddie."

"I deserve to have it thrown in my face! I should never have left her! Even if it was because I thought it would be best for her!"

"The important thing is that you are both happy now, and with each other again, so just forget it! Better yet, learn from it and never do anything like that again! Come on dude; don't let this eat you up. Women say harsh things to make us feel bad sometimes when they're upset, we just gotta take it and move on."

Edward was silent for a few moments, then spoke.

"I bet Autumn hasn't said anything like that yet." He said, then smiled. I laughed.

"Not yet man, but you never know. I think my time is coming soon. We haven't gotten into the snags in our relationship yet."

"Like what?" He asked, looking confused.

"Well…" I hesitated to tell my brother about my worries about Autumn. I wasn't stupid, or naïve. As good as Autumn was at hiding her true feelings, I'd had decades of practice on reading people. Whenever the subject of her family came up she seemed to shut down, and close herself off. I had a sick feeling in my stomach that maybe they were the source of those scars marking her body.

"If you don't want to tell me it's fine. I just thought maybe I could offer some advice." He shrugged, and rose, darting up the stairs. I stared out into the night, noticing all the night life bustling about. I knew I shouldn't confront Autumn about it just yet, but the images of what could have happened to her made my hands curl tightly into a fist and my heart hurt. On one hand, I felt like I could murder her whole family if they had harmed her, intentionally or not. But on the other hand poor, sweet, blameless Autumn might not want that, might just want someone to stop it, to take her away from those horrific memories.

Of course I was getting ahead of myself. Those scars could be childhood accidents for all I know, and her family could be the nicest around. But if they had abused her, I could guarantee one thing. Those people would never live another day of their lives without being fearful of what I would do to them. I don't care if the Voultori find out they know what I am. The humans could be disposed of easily enough.

"Emmett, why does your future suddenly include murder?"

"It's nothing Alice, just my thoughts wandering."

"Well alrighty then." She said, then bounced away. I sighed.

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"You'd love Jacob, Autumn, I'm sure of it. He's pretty amusing, protective, and loyal. Plus his body temp is higher than ours so he's good to go to for hugs and cuddling. In a friend way, you know?" She murmured this last part, blushing uneasily.

"You do realize you just described a puppy."

"Autumn!" She laughed, a look of mock horror on her face.

"Sorry, I just can't get past the fact that you have a vampire for a boyfriend and a werewo- ahem, _wolf _for a best friend.It's a little creepy. I mean, why here? Why now? Why you?"

"Here because the weather is perfect for wolves and vampires alike. Now because a clan of vampires is making the wolves reappear to protect and enforce the treaty I told you about. As for why me, of course I would show up in the middle of all this. I always was different…" At this her smiled slipped a little and I mentally slapped myself. She always had been a bit insecure about herself.

"Yeah, but that's what makes you so brilliant and loveable! Plus I'm family so I'm a little off as well. It runs in the family." I kept a straight, smiling face as I said this and she laughed, then continued talking about La Push. Thank goodness. I seemed to always come back to the topic of family. And my mind couldn't afford to be around that. She went on about the beach, and the guys that Jacob hung out with. I let my mind wander while she babbled on. I loved Bella, but sometimes she stayed on one topic for far too long. I had never met any of these people, so her descriptions meant nothing to me. Yet. She probably had a plan for me to meet them or something. I wondered how Emmett would react to that.

"So what is the deal with your family anyway?"

"What?" My attention snapped back to our conversation as it took an unexpected turn. My breath shortened.

"How's Aunt Kathy? And Uncle Sebastian?" I fought to keep my body and breathing under control.

"They're fine, as always." I lied, looking down at the sheets, tracing the purple stitching.

"Aunt Kathy still a workaholic?" She asked, chuckling.

"Of course." I mumbled. With Kathy always at work, or focused on work she never noticed how the other two members of her family faired…

"Did Uncle Sebastian ever find a new job?"

"No."

"Oh, so he stays at home."

"Yeah. What about Aunt Renee? How's she?" I said before I could pass out from lack of air. My whole body was shaking as it was; I had to squirm around a little to hide it.

"She's good, happy to be Phil's wife. I think she enjoys Florida, and him, so that's good."

"I bet you miss her." I said swiftly, noticing a longing look in her eyes, and taking advantage of it.

"Yeah, I do. She's just so reckless and unpredictable, she reminds me of a small, innocent child sometimes. But I like living with Charlie, and I think I actually sort of like Forks now." I laughed.

"Bet you never thought you'd say that huh?"

"Never." She said, grinning. I mentally sighed.

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Sunday morning brought a thick cover of fog, and from Alice's unquestionable weather report, the sun would only be out for an hour or two in the afternoon before disappearing again for the day. It was going to be another great day with my Autumn.

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I slept horribly that night. Dreams of being back at home, cold hands, shame, tears, and pain. Lots of pain. Nightmares that had me tossing and turning all night, waking up in a cold sweat, with labored breathing. Things hadn't been this bad since the beginning of school last year, when I had been introduced to the icy, unfeeling blade of a steel knife _he_ kept hidden in the second drawer on the left in their bedroom.

I watched light filter in form the window as the sun rose in the east, while I started at the retreating moon sinking in the west, the view from Bella's window facing the west. I found no beauty in the sight this morning. I heard Bella stir, but didn't bother to pretend to be asleep. She rose, and stumbled her way to the restroom, not noticing me. As soon as the bathroom door closed, I grabbed the trash can sitting on the floor a few feet away, dragged it onto the bed, and vomited in it. I heaved myself off the bed and forced myself down the stairs so I could clean out the can before Bella saw. I had just finished cleaning it when I heard a door open upstairs. I hurriedly dried it off and placed it in a corner before Charlie came lumbering down the stairs. He grunted, I nodded, and he paced into the living room, while I did my best to climb the stairs quickly. Halfway up I gasped quietly as I felt a shooting pain in my side. At this rate I would puke again before I made it back to the room.

I finally managed to get it back in place and climb in bed before Bella walked back in. My head pounded and I felt like I was burning up, even as the ceiling fan twirled around. The spinning made me feel sick; I closed my eyes and fought back the nausea.

"Autumn, are you ok?" The voice seemed to come from far away, but I nodded anyway, and forced out normal words.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Well alright…" I could feel her looking at me a few moments longer before she grabbed some clothes, and walked off the change and go have breakfast. My stomach heaved at the thought of food, but I stayed still, hoping it would end soon. The flushed feeling had gone away, and soon the nausea wore off too, leaving me cold and empty. I stared at the blank white wall, watching it twist and turn under my gaze. This was what I got when I thought about family too often; about my early teen years. It was too much for me to handle. My insides did a flip again and I fought the bile taste in my mouth.

I didn't even realize the time before I heard Charlie's cruiser drive away. A few minutes later a knock sounded downstairs, and then heard a big booming voice.

"Bella! Hey, how's my favorite klutz?" It was Emmett. I tried to pick myself up off the bed but my body wasn't working. Too many images and memories were hitting me at once to allow any control. I collapsed, my body twisting as I hung half on and half off on the bed. I heard Bella quarrelling playfully with two male voices downstairs before my name was mentioned. It got silent for a second or two, and then I heard steps on the stairs.

I summoned all my strength, and threw myself all the way onto the bed, turning over so I could pretend to be asleep. Then I promptly threw up.

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A putrid stench hit me as I walked in the door. I figured it must have been breakfast gone wrong, but whatever it was wasn't pleasant. Edward noticed it too, but Bella didn't say anything. After teasing her about her klutziness I asked about Autumn. She paused.

"I think she's still upstairs. I just saw her minute ago, and she didn't look so good, but I figured it was just early morning grogginess…?" She said hesitantly, then I sprung into action.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I finally reached their bedroom. And found the source of the smell. Autumn was twisted up in the blankets, lying next to a yellow liquid with chunks of green and orange in it. I raced over, taking her face in my hands and steering her away from the mess.

"Autumn? What's wrong? Autumn, please, wake up! Autumn!" I frantically checked her pulse, then put my hands on her waist to angle her body away from the vomit that was now making it way toward her.

"No, stop!" She suddenly shrieked, clawing at my hands on her waist, her eyes squinting, still shut. I let go and instead took her face gently in my hands. Her eyes snapped open, and in them I read terror.

"Please don't, I promise I'll be good, just please don't touch me again…" She whimpered, tears spilling from her eyes. I removed my hands, and back away from her, astonished.

"Autumn-"

"No!" She screamed, curling up in a ball and backing up until her back hit the wooden headboard with a loud thump. It must have hurt but she continued trying to escape, closing her eyes and hugging her body, talking to herself.

"What's going on?" Bella and Edward stood in the doorway, watching the scene with shocked, pained eyes.

"Please, I can't take it anymore…I'll do anything, just don't hurt me again…please don't." Her strangled voice carried across the silent room, making everyone speechless. I opened my mouth, trying to think of something, anything to say.

"I promise, I won't-" I started out cautiously.

"You said that last time!" She screamed, her breathing coming in sobbing gasps as she clutched at her body, shaking like a leaf.

"You promised you wouldn't hurt me anymore…" It was too much to handle; I couldn't take it anymore. I walked out of the room, closed the door, put my head in my hands, and sank against the hallway wall crying; tearless sobs racking my body.

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A/N: The reason that there wasn't an author's note at the beginning was because I didn't want to ramble on angrily before the chapter. Tell me, how can a chapter have 32 hits, and only 4 reviews? I mean come on, I'm not asking for a review from every single person who reads the story, although that would be nice. But I do hope that at least 10 people would review every chapter. I put a lot of time, energy, and thought into these chapters, trying to make them better for all of you. It would be nice if I could get some feedback, even if you hate the story or the direction its going. Any flames are used to help me write better, questions will be answered the best they can, suggestions are welcome, and positive comments are cherished. You don't have to review every chapter either, a few words once in a while is great. I'm not even asking for a paragraph! A simple "well done", or "good chapter" will do. For all of you who do usually review, I thank you so much. However, if the amount of feedback stays like this, I WILL drop the story, so please take a minute after each chapter to tell me what you think. Thank you.


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